Sample records for development test capabilities

Creep is the slow, time-dependent strain that occurs in a material under a constant strees (or load) at high temperature. High temperature is a relative term, dependent on the materials being evaluated. A typical creep curve is shown in Figure 1-1. In a creep test, a constant load is applied to a tensile specimen maintained at a constant temperature. Strain is then measured over a period of time. The slope of the curve, identified in the figure below, is the strain rate of the test during Stage II or the creep rate of the material. Primary creep, Stage I, is a period of decreasing creep rate due to work hardening of the material. Primary creep is a period of primarily transient creep. During this period, deformation takes place and the resistance to creep increases until Stage II, Secondary creep. Stage II creep is a period with a roughly constant creep rate. Stage II is referred to as steady-state creep because a balance is achieved between the work hardening and annealing (thermal softening) processes. Tertiary creep, Stage III, occurs when there is a reduction in cross sectional area due to necking or effective reduction in area due to internal void formation; that is, the creep rate increases due to necking of the specimen and the associated increase in local stress.

The objective of this technical note is to document the details of the infrastructure development process that was realized at the A0 photo injector facility to establish RF cold testingcapability for 1.3 GHz superconducting niobium single cell cavities. The activity began the last quarter of CY 2006 and ended the first quarter of CY 2009. The whole process involved addressing various aspects such as design of vertical insert and lifting fixture, modification of existing RF test station and design of new couplers, development of a Temperature Mapping (T-Map) system, radiation considerations for the test location (north cave), update of existing High Pressure Rinse (HPR) system, preparation of necessary safety documents and eventually obtaining an Operational Readiness Clearance (ORC). Figure 1 illustrates the various components of the development process. In the past, the north cave test station at A0 has supported the cold testing 3.9 GHz nine cell and single cell cavities, thus some of the components were available for use and some needed modification. The test dewar had the capacity to accommodate 1.3 GHz single cells although a new vertical insert that could handle both cavity types (1.3 and 3.9 GHz) had to be designed. The existing cryogenic system with an average capacity of {approx} 0.5 g/sec was deemed sufficient. The RF system was updated with broadband components and an additional amplifier with higher power capacity to handle higher gradients usually achieved in 1.3 GHz cavities. The initial testing phase was arbitrated to proceed with fixed power coupling. A new temperature mapping system was developed to provide the diagnostic tool for hot spot studies, quench characterization and field emission studies. The defining feature of this system was the use of diode sensors instead of the traditional carbon resistors as sensing elements. The unidirectional current carrying capacity (forward bias) of the diodes provided for the ease of multiplexing of the

Geotechnical structures such as underground bunkers, tunnels, and building foundations are subjected to stress fields produced by the gravity load on the structure and/or any overlying strata. These stress fields may be reproduced on a scaled model of the structure by proportionally increasing the gravity field through the use of a centrifuge. This technology can then be used to assess the vulnerability of various geotechnical structures to explosive loading. Applications of this technology include assessing the effectiveness of earth penetrating weapons, evaluating the vulnerability of various structures, counter-terrorism, and model validation. This document describes the development of expertise in scale model explosive testing on geotechnical structures using Sandia`s large scale centrifuge facility. This study focused on buried structures such as hardened storage bunkers or tunnels. Data from this study was used to evaluate the predictive capabilities of existing hydrocodes and structural dynamics codes developed at Sandia National Laboratories (such as Pronto/SPH, Pronto/CTH, and ALEGRA). 7 refs., 50 figs., 8 tabs.

The Imaging and Detection Program (IDP) within the Laser Program is currently developing an X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to support the Joint US/UK Radar Ocean Imaging Program. The radar system will be mounted in the program`s Airborne Experimental Test-Bed (AETB), where the initial mission is to image ocean surfaces and better understand the physics of low grazing angle backscatter. The Synthetic Aperture Radar presentation will discuss its overall functionality and a brief discussion on the AETB`s capabilities. Vital subsystems including radar, computer, navigation, antenna stabilization, and SAR focusing algorithms will be examined in more detail.

An instrumented creep testingcapability is being developed for specimens irradiated in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) coolant conditions at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). The test rig has been developed such that samples will be subjected to stresses ranging from 92 to 350 MPa at temperatures between 290 and 370 °C up to at least 2 dpa (displacement per atom). The status of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) efforts to develop the test rig in-situ creep testingcapability for the ATR is described. In addition to providing an overview of in-pile creep testcapabilities available at other test reactors, this paper reports efforts by INL to evaluate a prototype test rig in an autoclave at INLs High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL). Initial data from autoclave tests with 304 stainless steel (304 SS) specimens are reported.

The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive review of the mission of the Fuel Fabrication Capability (FFC) within the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Convert Program, along with research and development (R&D) needs that have been identified as necessary to ensuring mission success. The design and fabrication of successful nuclear fuels must be closely linked endeavors.

Construction of High Field Test Facility (HFTF) at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLNL) requires an extended surface Nb/sub 3/Sn superconductor cable of carrying currents in excess of 7500 amperes in a 12 Tesla magnetic field. This conductor consists of a 5.4 mm x 11.0 mm superconducting core onto whose broad surfaces are soldered embossed oxygen free copper strips. Two different core designs have been developed and the feasibility of each design evaluated. Equipment necessary to produce the conductor were developed and techniques of production were explored.

Project Completed On Time, Under Budget | National Nuclear Security Administration | (NNSA) Sandia National Laboratories TestCapabilities Revitalization Phase 2 Project Completed On Time, Under Budget March 24, 2014 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) TestCapabilities Revitalization Phase 2 (TCR 2) project was recently completed on schedule and $4 million under the original budget. Completion of the project, located at Sandia National Laboratories in

Capabilities Structures of the zwitterionic coatings synthesized for this study. Permalink Gallery Investigations on Anti-biofouling Zwitterionic Coatings for MHK Is Now in Press Analysis, Capabilities, Energy, News, News & Events, Renewable Energy, Research & Capabilities, Water Power Investigations on Anti-biofouling Zwitterionic Coatings for MHK Is Now in Press Sandia's Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) Advanced Materials program has a new publication on the antifouling efficacy of

Battery TestingCapabilities Get a Boost February 5, 2010 Photo of a Test engineer standing next to a camera showing a thermal image of a battery being tested. Enlarge image Engineer Dirk Long uses thermal imaging equipment to capture a battery's infrared fingerprint to diagnose its behavior. NREL soon will be ramping up testing as the battery industry uses stimulus funding to enhance batteries used in advanced vehicles. Credit: Pat Corkery Batteries are the heart of today's advanced electric

This paper documents the application of quality requirements to Component TestCapability (CTC) Project activities for each CTC alternative. Four alternatives are considered for quality program application: do nothing, vendor testing, existing testing facility modification, and Component Test Facility. It also describes the advantages and disadvantages of using the existing Next Generation Nuclear Plant Quality Program Plan with CTC modifications versus a stand-alone CTC Quality Program Plan.

The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive review of the mission of the Fuel Fabrication Capability (FFC) within the Global Threat Reduction Initiative Convert Program, along with research and development (R&D) needs that have been identified as necessary to ensuring mission success. The design and fabrication of successful nuclear fuels must be closely linked endeavors. Therefore, the overriding motivation behind the FFC R&D program described in this plan is to foster closer integration between fuel design and fabrication to reduce programmatic risk. These motivating factors are all interrelated, and progress addressing one will aid understanding of the others. The FFC R&D needs fall into two principal categories, 1) baseline process optimization, to refine the existing fabrication technologies, and 2) manufacturing process alternatives, to evaluate new fabrication technologies that could provide improvements in quality, repeatability, material utilization, or cost. The FFC R&D Plan examines efforts currently under way in regard to coupon, foil, plate, and fuel element manufacturing, and provides recommendations for a number of R&D topics that are of high priority but not currently funded (i.e., knowledge gaps). The plan ties all FFC R&D efforts into a unified vision that supports the overall Convert Program schedule in general, and the fabrication schedule leading up to the MP-1 and FSP-1 irradiation experiments specifically. The fabrication technology decision gates and down-selection logic and schedules are tied to the schedule for fabricating the MP-1 fuel plates, which will provide the necessary data to make a final fuel fabrication process down-selection. Because of the short turnaround between MP-1 and the follow-on FSP-1 and MP-2 experiments, the suite of specimen types that will be available for MP-1 will be the same as those available for FSP-1 and MP-2. Therefore, the only opportunity to explore parameter space and alternative processing

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project is conducting a trade study to select a preferred approach for establishing a capability whereby NGNP technology development testingâthrough large-scale, integrated testsâcan be performed for critical HTGR structures, systems, and components (SSCs). The mission of this capability includes enabling the validation of interfaces, interactions, and performance for critical systems and components prior to installation in the NGNP prototype.

colonization of the subsea base support structure. In support of these plans, the project team developed and field tested a strobeâilluminated stereooptical camera system suitable for studying nearâturbine interactions with marine animals. The camera system underwent shortâterm field testing at the proposed turbine deployment site and a multiâmonth endurance test in shallower water to evaluate the effectiveness of biofouling mitigation measures for the optical ports on camera and strobe pressure housings. These tests demonstrated that the camera system is likely to meet the objectives of the nearâturbine monitoring plan and operate, without maintenance, for periods of at least three months. The project team also advanced monitoring capabilities related to passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals and monitoring of tidal currents. These capabilities will be integrated in a recoverable monitoring package that has a single interface point with the OpenHydro turbines, connects to shore power and data via a wetâmate connector, and can be recovered to the surface for maintenance and reconfiguration independent of the turbine. A logical next step would be to integrate these instruments within the package, such that one instrument can trigger the operation of another.

The goal of the Development of High Temperature Capacitor Technology and Manufacturing Capability program was to mature a production-ready supply chain for reliable 250Â°C FPE (fluorinated polyester) film capacitors by 2011. These high-temperature film capacitors enable both the down hole drilling and aerospace industries by enabling a variety of benefits including: â Deeper oil exploration in higher temperature and pressure environments â Enabling power electronic and control equipment to operate in higher temperature environments â Enabling reduced cooling requirements of electronics â Increasing reliability and life of capacitors operating below rated temperature â Enabling capacitors to handle higher electrical losses without overheating. The key challenges to bringing the FPE film capacitors to market have been manufacturing challenges including: â FPE Film is difficult to handle and wind, resulting in poor yields â Voltage breakdown strength decreases when the film is wound into capacitors (~70% decrease) â Encapsulation technologies must be improved to enable higher temperature operation â Manufacturing and test cycle time is very long As a direct result of this program most of the manufacturing challenges have been met. The FPE film production metalization and winding yield has increased to over 82% from 70%, and the voltage breakdown strength of the wound capacitors has increased 270% to 189 V/ÎŒm. The high temperature packaging concepts are showing significant progress including promising results for lead attachments and hermetic packages at 200Â°C and non-hermetic packages at 250Â°C. Manufacturing and test cycle time will decrease as the market for FPE capacitors develops.

The mission of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is to quickly and reliably detect unauthorized attempts to import or transport special nuclear material for use against the United States. Developing detection equipment to meet this objective requires accurate simulation of both the detectable signature and detection mechanism. A delayed particle capability was initially added to MCNPX 2.6.A in 2005 to sample the radioactive fission product parents and emit decay particles resulting from the decay chain. To meet the objectives of detection scenario modelling, the capability was designed to sample a particular time for emitting particular multiplicity of a particular energy. Because the sampling process of selecting both time and energy is interdependent, to linearize the time and emission sampling, atom densities are computed at several discrete time steps, and the time integrated production is computed by multiplying the atom density by the decay constant and time step size to produce a cumulative distribution function for sampling the emission time, energy and multiplicity. The delayed particle capability was initially given a time bin structure to help reasonably reproduce, from a qualitative sense, a fission benchmark by D. Beddingfield, which examined the delayed gamma emission. This original benchmark was only qualitative and did not contain the magnitudes of the actual measured data, but did contain relative graphical representation of the spectra. A better benchmark with measured data was later provided by A. W.Hunt, Vladimir Mozin, E.T.E. Reedy, H.A. Selpel and Steve Tobin at the Idaho Accelerator Center; however, due to the complexity of the benchmark setup, sizable systematic errors were expected in the modeling, and initial results compared to MCNPX 2.7.0 showed errors outside of statistical fluctuation. Presented here is a more simplified approach to benchmarking, utilizing closed form analytic solutions to the granddaughter equations for 2

The Predictive Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) is an expert elicitation tool designed to characterize and communicate completeness of the approaches used for computational model definition, verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification associated for an intended application. The primary application of this tool at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has been for physics-based computational simulations in support of nuclear weapons applications. The two main goals of a PCMM evaluation are 1) the communication of computational simulation capability, accurately and transparently, and 2) the development of input for effective planning. As a result of the increasing importance of computational simulation to SNL's mission, the PCMM has evolved through multiple generations with the goal to provide more clarity, rigor, and completeness in its application. This report describes the approach used to develop the fourth generation of the PCMM.

In order to enhance the resilience of the Nation and its ability to protect itself in the face of natural and human-caused hazards, the ability of the critical infrastructure (CI) system to withstand specific threats and return to normal operations after degradation must be determined. To fully analyze the resilience of a region and the CI that resides within it, both the actual resilience of the individual CI and the capability of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) to protect against and respond to potential hazards need to be considered. Thus, a regional resilience approach requires the comprehensive consideration of all parts of the CI system as well as the characterization of emergency services. This characterization must generate reproducible results that can support decision making with regard to risk management, disaster response, business continuity, and community planning and management. To address these issues, Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sector Specific Agency - Executive Management Office, developed a comprehensive methodology to create an Emergency Services Sector Capabilities Index (ESSCI). The ESSCI is a performance metric that ranges from 0 (low level of capabilities) to 100 (high). Because an emergency services program has a high ESSCI, however, does not mean that a specific event would not be able to affect a region or cause severe consequences. And because a program has a low ESSCI does not mean that a disruptive event would automatically lead to serious consequences in a region. Moreover, a score of 100 on the ESSCI is not the level of capability expected of emergency services programs; rather, it represents an optimal program that would rarely be observed. The ESSCI characterizes the state of preparedness of a jurisdiction in terms of emergency and risk management. Perhaps the index's primary benefit is that it can systematically capture, at a given point in time, the

The purpose of this report is to examine the Department of Transportation`s (DOT) National Transportation System (NTS) initiative, to document what has been learned, and to outline a National Transportation Network Analysis Capability (NTNAC) based on a ``TRANSIMS-like`` approach. This study was conducted over a two month period at the end of FY1997. The scope of the effort was carefully defined to accommodate the short time horizon and to provide focus to a very large analytical problem. The objectives were to: (1) define the NTS and the NTS problem; (2) identify problem characteristics; (3) describe an analytical solution based on the TRANSIMS approach; (4) identify data requirements and availability; (5) develop criteria for a scenario to be used in a prototype demonstration; and (6) select a scenario for the prototype demonstration.

Abstract. The future of American space exploration depends on the ability to rapidly and economically access locations of interest throughout the solar system. There is a large body of work (both in the US and the Former Soviet Union) that show that Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) is the most technically mature, advanced propulsion system that can enable this rapid and economical access by its ability to provide a step increase above what is a feasible using a traditional chemical rocket system. For an NTP system to be deployed, the earlier measurements and recent predictions of the performance of the fuel and the reactor system need to be confirmed experimentally prior to launch. Major fuel and reactor system issues to be addressed include fuel performance at temperature, hydrogen compatibility, fission product retention, and restart capability. The prime issue to be addressed for reactor system performance testing involves finding an affordable and environmentally acceptable method to test a range of engine sizes using a combination of nuclear and non-nuclear test facilities. This paper provides an assessment of some of the capabilities and facilities that are available or will be needed to develop and test the nuclear fuel, and reactor components. It will also address briefly options to take advantage of the greatly improvement in computation/simulation and materials processing capabilities that would contribute to making the development of an NTP system more affordable. Keywords: Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), Fuel fabrication, nuclear testing, test facilities.

In this paper, we report the progress made in our project recently funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) toward developing a computational capability, which includes a two-phase, three-dimensional PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cell model and its coupling with DAKOTA (a design and optimization toolkit developed and being enhanced by Sandia National Laboratories). We first present a brief literature survey in which the prominent/notable PEM fuel cell models developed by various researchers or groups are reviewed. Next, we describe the two-phase, three-dimensional PEM fuel cell model being developed, tested, and later validated by experimental data. Results from case studies are presented to illustrate the utility of our comprehensive, integrated cell model. The coupling between the PEM fuel cell model and DAKOTA is briefly discussed. Our efforts in this DOE-funded project are focused on developing a validated computational capability that can be employed for PEM fuel cell design and optimization.

The Idaho National Laboratory conducted testing and analysis of the Eaton smart grid capable electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), which was a deliverable from Eaton for the U.S. Department of Energy FOA-554. The Idaho National Laboratory has extensive knowledge and experience in testing advanced conductive and wireless charging systems though INLâs support of the U.S. Department of Energyâs Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity. This document details the findings from the EVSE operational testing conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory on the Eaton smart grid capable EVSE. The testing conducted on the EVSE included energy efficiency testing, SAE J1772 functionality testing, abnormal conditions testing, and charging of a plug-in vehicle.

The Idaho National Laboratory conducted testing and analysis of the Siemens smart grid capable electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), which was a deliverable from Siemens for the U.S. Department of Energy FOA-554. The Idaho National Laboratory has extensive knowledge and experience in testing advanced conductive and wireless charging systems though INLâs support of the U.S. Department of Energyâs Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity. This document details the findings from the EVSE operational testing conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory on the Siemens smart grid capable EVSE. The testing conducted on the EVSE included energy efficiency testing, SAE J1772 functionality testing, abnormal conditions testing, and charging of a plug-in vehicle.

The U.S. Department of Energy s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), was originally designed (in the 1960s) primarily as a part of the overall program to produce transuranic isotopes for use in the heavy-element research program of the United States. Today, the reactor is a highly versatile machine, producing medical and transuranic isotopes and performing materials test experimental irradiations and neutron-scattering experiments. The ability to test advanced fuels and cladding materials in a thermal neutron spectrum in the United States is limited, and a fast-spectrum irradiation facility does not currently exist in this country. The HFIR has a distinct advantage for consideration as a fuel/cladding irradiation facility because of the extremely high neutron fluxes that this reactor provides over the full thermal- to fast-neutron energy range. New testcapabilities have been developed that will allow testing of advanced nuclear fuels and cladding materials in the HFIR under prototypic light-water reactor (LWR) and fast-reactor (FR) operating conditions.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is contemplating new regulations mandating testing of the vulnerability of flight-critical avionics to single event effects (SEE). A limited number of high-energy neutron test facilities currently serve the SEE industrial and institutional research community. The FAA recognizes that existing facilities have insufficient test capacity to meet new demand from such mandates; it desires more flexible irradiation capabilities to test complete, large systems and would like capabilities to address greater concerns for thermal neutrons. For this reason, the FAA funded this study by Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) staff with the ultimate aim of developing options for SEE test facilities using high-energy neutrons at the SNS complex. After an investigation of current SEE test practices and assessment of future testing requirements, three concepts were identified covering a range of test functionality, neutron flux levels, and fidelity to the atmospheric neutron spectrum. The costs and times required to complete each facility were also estimated. SEE testing is generally performed by accelerating the event rate to a point where the effects are still dominated by single events and double event causes of failures are negligible. In practice, acceleration factors of as high as 106 are applicable for component testing, whereas for systems testing acceleration factors of 104 seem to be the upper limit. It is strongly desirable that the irradiation facility be tunable over a large range of high-energy neutron fluxes of 102 - 104 n/cmÂČ/s for systems testing and from 104 - 107 n/cmÂČ/s for components testing. The most capable, most flexible, and highest-test-capacity option is a new stand-alone target station named the High-Energy neutron Test Station (HETS). It is also the most expensive option, with a cost to complete of approximately $100 million. Dual test enclosures would

This report presents the results of a study to determine if Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has the skilled staff, instrumentation, specialized equipment, and facilities required to take on work in thermochemical research, development, and demonstration currently being performed by the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI). This study outlines the beneficial collaborations between INL and other national laboratories, universities, and industries to strengthen INL's thermochemical efforts, which should be developed to achieve the goals of the NHI in the most expeditious, cost effective manner. Taking on this work supports INL's long-term strategy to maintain leadership in thermochemical cycle development. This report suggests a logical path forward to accomplish this transition.

Development of Advanced Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) Modeling Capabilities for Enhanced Geothermal Systems presentation at the April 2013 peer review meeting held in Denver, Colorado.

Transportation Exercise to Test Emergency Response Capabilities for Midland-Odessa CARLSBAD, N.M., January 10, 2000 - Emergency response agencies from Midland and Odessa, Texas, will take part in a 1 p.m. (CST) training exercise Jan. 12 at the Ector County Coliseum. The graded exercise will help agencies determine whether emergency personnel are prepared to respond to a possible accident involving a shipment of transuranic radioactive waste headed for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste

System reliability is essential for the economic success of any subsea oil and gas development. Testing programs can be developed to prove system reliability while still adhering to cost and schedule constraints. This paper describes a three-tiered equipment testing program that was employed for the Pompano Phase 2 subsea system. Program objectives, test descriptions, procedure development and test execution are discussed in detail. Lessons learned throughout the tests are also presented.

A software design review meeting was held May 2-3 in Lebanon, NH. The work on integrating a reformer model based on CFD with a fuel cell flow sheet was completed (Task 2.0). The CFD database design was completed and the database API's finalized. A file -based CFD database was implemented and tested (Task 2.8). The task COM-CORBA Bridge-I was completed. The bridge now has CO interfaces for transferring reaction kinetics information from Aspen Plus to Fluent (Task 2.11). The capability for transferring temperature-dependent physical properties from Aspen Plus to Fluent was implemented (Task 2.12). Work on ''Model Selection'' GUI was completed. This GUI allows the process analyst to select models from the CFD database. Work on ''Model Edit'' GUI was started (Task 2.13). A version of Aspen Plus with the capability for using CO parameters in ''design spec'' analysis has become available. With this version being available, work on adding CO wrapper to INDVU code has been started (Task 2.15). A preliminary design for the Solution Strategy class was developed (Task 2.16). The requirements for transferring pressure data between Aspen Plus and Fluent were defined. The ability to include two CFD models in a flow sheet was successfully tested. The capability to handle multiple inlets and outlets in a CO block was tested (Task 2.17). A preliminary version of the Configuration Wizard, which helps a user to make any Fluent model readable from a process simulator, was developed and tested (Task 2.18). Work on constructing a flow sheet model for Demo Case 2 was started. The work on documenting Demo Case 2 is nearing completion (Task 3.2). A Fluent heat exchanger model was installed and tested. Work on calibrating the heat exchanger model was started (Task 4.1). An advisory board meeting was held in conjunction with the Fluent Users Group Meeting on Monday, June 10, 2002. The meeting minutes and presentations for the advisory board meeting have been posted on the project website

Remote visual testing is typically employed to ascertain the condition of materials in components that are inaccessible for direct examination. In the power and petrochemical industries, remote visual testing is used to assess whether service-related degradation is being manifested that, if left unchecked, may eventually impair the structural reliability of a component. Several codes and standards require that visual examinations be periodically conducted. Many of these inspections must be performed remotely due to harsh environments or design geometries of the subject components. This paper describes the attributes and limitations of remote visual testing, performance demonstration standards for camera systems, typical dimensions for service-induced cracking phenomena, and an assessment of the reliability of remote video camera systems at finding cracks. Because many forms of service-induced cracks have very small crack opening dimensions, the reliability of remote visual testing may not be adequate to ensure component integrity, given the capabilities of current camera systems and application practices.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is preparing to fuel and test the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG), the next generation space power generator. The INL identified the thermal vacuum test chamber used to test past generators as inadequate. A second vacuum chamber was upgraded with a thermal shroud to process the unique needs and to test the full power capability of the new generator. The thermal vacuum test chamber is the first of its kind capable of testing a fueled power system to temperature that accurately simulate space. This paper outlines the new test and set up capabilities at the INL.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR; TRA-670), which is located in the ATR Complex at Idaho National Laboratory, was constructed in the 1960s for the purpose of irradiating reactor fuels and materials. Other irradiation services, such as radioisotope production, are also performed at ATR. While ATR is safely fulfilling current mission requirements, assessments are continuing. These assessments intend to identify areas to provide defenseâin-depth and improve safety for ATR. One of the assessments performed by an independent group of nuclear industry experts recommended that a remote accident management capability be provided. The report stated that: âcontemporary practice in commercial power reactors is to provide a remote shutdown station or stations to allow shutdown of the reactor and management of long-term cooling of the reactor (i.e., management of reactivity, inventory, and cooling) should the main control room be disabled (e.g., due to a fire in the control room or affecting the control room).â This project will install remote reactor monitoring and management capabilities for ATR. Remote capabilities will allow for post scram reactor management and monitoring in the event the main Reactor Control Room (RCR) must be evacuated.

A novel capability was designed, implemented, and tested for in situ neutron diffraction measurements during loading at cryogenic temperatures on the spectrometer for materials research at temperature and stress at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This capability allowed for the application of dynamic compressive forces of up to 250 kN on standard samples controlled at temperatures between 300 and 90 K. The approach comprised of cooling thermally isolated compression platens that in turn conductively cooled the sample in an aluminum vacuum chamber which was nominally transparent to the incident and diffracted neutrons. The cooling/heat rate and final temperature were controlled by regulating the flow of liquid nitrogen in channels inside the platens that were connected through bellows to the mechanical actuator of the load frame and by heaters placed on the platens. Various performance parameters of this system are reported here. The system was used to investigate deformation in Ni-Ti-Fe shape memory alloys at cryogenic temperatures and preliminary results are presented.

The sound background built-up in LWR source term analysis in case of a severe accident, make it worth to check the capability of LWR safety analysis codes to model accident SFR scenarios, at least in some areas. This paper gives a snapshot of such predictability in the area of aerosol behavior in containment. To do so, the AB-5 test of the ABCOVE program has been modeled with 3 LWR codes: ASTEC, ECART and MELCOR. Through the search of a best estimate scenario and its comparison to data, it is concluded that even in the specific case of in-containment aerosol behavior, some enhancements would be needed in the LWR codes and/or their application, particularly with respect to consideration of particle shape. Nonetheless, much of the modeling presently embodied in LWR codes might be applicable to SFR scenarios. These conclusions should be seen as preliminary as long as comparisons are not extended to more experimental scenarios. (authors)

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) research capability has been developed that facilitates measuring the electrochemical performance of an operating SOFC while simultaneously performing x-ray diffraction on its cathode. The evolution of this research tools development is discussed together with a description of the instrumentation used for in-situ x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements of operating SOFC cathodes. The challenges that were overcome in the process of developing this capability, which included seals and cathode current collectors, are described together with the solutions that are presently being applied to mitigate them.

The Department of Energy (DOE)-Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and associated nuclear fuels programs have invested heavily over the years in infrastructure and capabilitydevelopment. With the current domestic and international need to develop Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF), increasing importance is being placed on understanding fuel performance in irradiated conditions and on the need to model and validate that performance to reduce uncertainty and licensing timeframes. INLâs Thermal Properties CapabilityDevelopment Workshop was organized to identify the capability needed by the various nuclear programs and list the opportunities to meet those needs. In addition, by the end of fiscal year 2015, the decision will be made on the initial thermal properties instruments to populate the shielded cell in the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL).

The Idaho National Laboratory conducted testing and analysis of the General Electric (GE) smart grid capable electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), which was a deliverable from GE for the U.S. Department of Energy FOA-554. The Idaho National Laboratory has extensive knowledge and experience in testing advanced conductive and wireless charging systems though INLâs support of the U.S. Department of Energyâs Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity. This document details the findings from the EVSE operational testing conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory on the GE smart grid capable EVSE. The testing conducted on the EVSE included energy efficiency testing, SAE J1772 functionality testing, abnormal conditions testing, and charging of a plug-in vehicle.

The goal of this DOE Vision-21 project work scope is to develop an integrated suite of software tools that can be used to simulate and visualize advanced plant concepts. Existing process simulation software does not meet the DOE's objective of ''virtual simulation'' which is needed to evaluate complex cycles. The overall intent of the DOE is to improve predictive tools for cycle analysis, and to improve the component models that are used in turn to simulate the cycle. Advanced component models are available; however, a generic coupling capability that will link the advanced component models to the cycle simulation software remains to be developed. In the current project, the coupling of the cycle analysis and cycle component simulation software will be based on an existing suite of programs. The challenge is to develop a general-purpose software and communications link between the cycle analysis software Aspen Plus{reg_sign} (marketed by Aspen Technology, Inc.), and specialized component modeling packages, as exemplified by industrial proprietary codes (utilized by ALSTOM Power Inc.) and the FLUENT{trademark} CFD code (provided by Fluent Inc). ALSTOM Power has a task responsibility to select and run a combined cycle test case (designated as Demonstration Case 2) to demonstrate the feasibility of the linkage concept. This report summarizes and documents the unit selected to represent Case 2, a 250 MW, natural gas-fired, combined cycle power plant. An analogous document for Demonstration Case 1 was previously submitted on April 30, 2001. Sufficient information is available from the plant to adequately benchmark the model. Hence, the proposed unit is deemed to be well suited as a demonstration case. However, as the combined cycle plant selected for this study contains recent technology, sensitivity to the commercial implications of this study prevents the release of the plant name and limits the quantity of operating/design information that can be presented. These

This fact sheet describes the purpose, lab specifications, applications scenarios, and information on how to partner with NREL's Fuel Cell Development and Test Laboratory at the Energy Systems Integration Facility. NREL's state-of-the-art Fuel Cell Development and Test Laboratory in the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) supports NREL's fuel cell research and development projects through in-situ fuel cell testing. Current projects include various catalyst development projects, a system contaminant project, and the manufacturing project. Testingcapabilities include but are not limited to single cell fuel cells and fuel cell stacks.

This white paper identifies where the technical management and systems engineering processes and activities to be used in establishing the High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Component TestCapability (CTC) should be addressed and presents specific considerations for these activities under each CTC alternative

Development work to implement a new welding system for a Firing Set is presented. The new system is significant because it represents the first use of fiber laser welding technology at the KCP. The work used Six-Sigma tools for weld characterization and to define process performance. Determinations of workable weld parameters and comparison to existing equipment were completed. Replication of existing waveforms was done utilizing an Arbitrary Pulse Generator (APG), which was used to modulate the fiber lasers exclusive continuous wave (CW) output. Fiber laser weld process capability for a Firing Set is demonstrated.

To accelerate the development of advanced power plants, DOE's Vision 21 program identified the need for an integrated suite of software tools that could be used to simulate and visualize new plant concepts. Existing process simulation software did not meet this objective of virtual-plant simulation. Sophisticated models of many individual equipment items are available; however, a seamless coupling capability that would integrate the advanced equipment (component) models to the process (system) simulation software remained to be developed. The inability to use models in an integrated manner causes knowledge loss (e.g., knowledge captured in detailed equipment models is usually not available in process simulation) and modeling inconsistencies (e.g., physical properties and reaction kinetics data in different models are not the same). A team consisting of Fluent Inc., ALSTOM Power Inc., Aspen Technology Inc., Intergraph Corporation, and West Virginia University, in collaboration with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), addressed this challenge in a project performed over the period from October 2000 through December 2004. In this project the integration of the cycle analysis software was based on widely used commercial software: Aspen Plus{reg_sign} for process simulation and FLUENT{reg_sign} for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of equipment items. The integration software was designed to also include custom (in-house, proprietary, legacy) equipment models that often encapsulate the experience from the many years of designing and operating the equipment. The team adopted CAPE-OPEN (CO) interfaces, the de facto international standard for communication among process models, for exchanging information between software. The software developed in this project is the first demonstration of the use of CO interfaces to link CFD and custom equipment models with process simulators. New interface requirements identified during this project were

This project explores the feasibility of combining geologic insight, geostatistics, and high-performance computing to analyze the capabilities of 3-D electrical resistance tomography (ERT). Geostatistical methods are used to characterize the spatial variability of geologic facies that control sub-surface variability of permeability and electrical resistivity Synthetic ERT data sets are generated from geostatistical realizations of alluvial facies architecture. The synthetic data sets enable comparison of the "truth" to inversion results, quantification of the ability to detect particular facies at particular locations, and sensitivity studies on inversion parameters

During the period April to June 2008, at the behest of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO); the Desert Research Institute (DRI) constructed and deployed two portable environmental monitoring stations at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) as part of the Environmental Restoration Project Soils Sub-Project. The TTR is located within the boundaries of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) near the northern edge, and covers an area of approximately 725.20 km2 (179,200 acres). The primary objective of the monitoring stations is to evaluate whether and under what conditions there is wind transport of radiological contaminants from one of the three Soil Sub-Project Corrective Action Units (CAUs) associated with Operation Roller Coaster on TTR. Operation Roller Coaster was a series of tests, conducted in 1963, designed to examine the stability and dispersal of plutonium in storage and transportation accidents. These tests did not result in any nuclear explosive yield. However, the tests did result in the dispersal of plutonium and contamination of surface soils in the surrounding area.

During the period April to June 2008, at the behest of the Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO); the Desert Research Institute (DRI) constructed and deployed two portable environmental monitoring stations at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) as part of the Environmental Restoration Project Soils Activity. DRI has operated these stations since that time. A third station was deployed in the period May to September 2011. The TTR is located within the northwest corner of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), and covers an area of approximately 725.20 km2 (280 mi2). The primary objective of the monitoring stations is to evaluate whether and under what conditions there is wind transport of radiological contaminants from Soils Corrective Action Units (CAUs) associated with Operation Roller Coaster on TTR. Operation Roller Coaster was a series of tests, conducted in 1963, designed to examine the stability and dispersal of plutonium in storage and transportation accidents. These tests did not result in any nuclear explosive yield. However, the tests did result in the dispersal of plutonium and contamination of surface soils in the surrounding area.

Ensuring that safety analysis needs are met in the future is likely to lead to the development of new codes and the further development of existing codes. It is therefore advantageous to define standards for data interfaces and to develop software interfacing techniques which can readily accommodate changes when they are made. Defining interface standards is beneficial but is necessarily restricted in application if future requirements are not known in detail. Code interfacing methods are of particular relevance with the move towards automatic grid frequency response operation where the integration of plant dynamic, core follow and fault study calculation tools is considered advantageous. This paper describes the background and features of a new code TALINK (Transient Analysis code LINKage program) used to provide a flexible interface to link the RELAP5 thermal hydraulics code with the PANTHER neutron kinetics and the SIBDYM whole plant dynamic modelling codes used by Nuclear Electric. The complete package enables the codes to be executed in parallel and provides an integrated whole plant thermal-hydraulics and neutron kinetics model. In addition the paper discusses the capabilities and pedigree of the component codes used to form the integrated transient analysis package and the details of the calculation of a postulated Sizewell `B` Loss of offsite power fault transient.

The United States of America currently relies on foreign suppliers to meet all of it needs for molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) used in medical diagnostic procedures. The current US demand is at least 5000 six-day curies per week. Neutronics calculations have been performed to assess whether the proposed Materials Test Station (MTS) could potentially generate Mo-99. Two target material options have been explored for Mo-99 production in the MTS: low enriched uranium (LEU) and Tc-99. For LEU, scoping calculations indicate that MTS can supply nearly half of the current US demand with only minor neutronic impact on the MTS primary mission. For the Tc-99 option, the MTS could produce about one-tenth of the US demand.

A software review meeting was held at Fluent Inc. in Lebanon, NH on January 31-February 1, 2002. The team reviewed the current status of the software and its compliance with the software requirements (Task 2). Work on a fuel cell based power-plant flow sheet that incorporates a reformer CFD model was started. This test case includes more features (multiple ports, temperature dependent properties) than the mixing tank test case developed earlier and will be used for the further testing of the software (Task 2). The software development plan was finalized (Task 2.7). The design and implementation of a CFD database was commenced. The CFD database would store various models that a process analyst can use in the flowsheet model (Task 2.8). The COM-CORBA Bridge was upgraded to use the recently published version 0.9.3 CAPE-OPEN specifications. Work on transferring reaction kinetics data from Aspen Plus to Fluent was started (Task 2.11). The requirements for extending CAPE-OPEN interfaces in Aspen Plus to transfer temperature dependent properties to Fluent was written and communicated to the Aspen Tech developer of CAPE-OPEN interfaces (Task 2.12). A prototype of low-order model based on the Multiple Regression technique was written. A low-order model is required to speed up the calculations with the integrated model (Task 2.19). The Berkshire Power (Agawam, MA) combined-cycle power plant was selected as the Demonstration Case 2 (Task 3.2). A CFD model of the furnace in Demonstration Case 1 was developed. The furnace model will be incorporated into the flowsheet model already developed for this case (Task 4.1). A new hire joined the Fluent development team for this project. The project management plan was revised based on the software development plan. A presentation on the project status was made at the Clearwater Conference, March 4-7, 2002. The final manuscript for ESCAPE-12 conference was submitted (Task 7.0).

This is the eleventh Quarterly Technical Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No: DE-FC26-00NT40954. The goal of the project is to develop and demonstrate a software framework to enable virtual simulation of Vision 21 plants. During the last quarter much progress was made in software development. The CO wrapper for the integration of Alstom Power proprietary code INDVU was upgraded to CO V1.0.0 and was successfully integrated with an Aspen Plus flowsheet. The V21-Controller and the Fluent CO wrapper were upgraded to CO V.1.0.0, and the testing and debugging of the upgraded V21-Controller was completed. Two Aspen Plus analysis tools (sensitivity analysis and optimization) were successfully tested in an integrated simulation. Extensive testing of the integrated software was continued. A list of suggested enhancements was given to the software development team. Work on software documentation was started. Work on preparing the release version progressed: Several enhancements were made in the V21-Controller and the Fluent Configuration Wizard GUIs. Work to add persistence functionality to the V21-Controller was started. During the last quarter good progress was made in software demonstration. Demo Case 1 simulations were completed. This case, a conventional steam cycle with a CFD model representing the boiler module, was successfully demonstrated at 9 distinct load points from 33 MW to 19 MW. Much progress was made with Demo Case 2. Work on adding a CO wrapper to the HRSGSIM code was completed, and integrated simulations with the HRSGSIM code were conducted. The CFD heat exchanger model for Demo Case 2 was calibrated with HRSGSIM results. An Advisory Board meeting was held in Manchester, NH on May 6 during the Fluent Users Group Meeting. The preparation of the project final report was started.

This report documents progress made on continued developments of the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) Computable General Equilibrium Model (NCGEM), developed in fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2013, NISAC the treatment of the labor market and tests performed with the model to examine the properties of the solutions computed by the model. To examine these, developers conducted a series of 20 simulations for 20 U.S. States. Each of these simulations compared an economic baseline simulation with an alternative simulation that assumed a 20-percent reduction in overall factor productivity in the manufacturing industries of each State. Differences in the simulation results between the baseline and alternative simulations capture the economic impact of the reduction in factor productivity. While not every State is affected in precisely the same way, the reduction in manufacturing industry productivity negatively affects the manufacturing industries in each State to an extent proportional to the reduction in overall factor productivity. Moreover, overall economic activity decreases when manufacturing sector productivity is reduced. Developers ran two additional simulations: (1) a version of the model for the State of Michigan, with manufacturing divided into two sub-industries (automobile and other vehicle manufacturing as one sub-industry and the rest of manufacturing as the other subindustry); and (2) a version of the model for the United States, divided into 30 industries. NISAC conducted these simulations to illustrate the flexibility of industry definitions in NCGEM and to examine the simulation properties of in more detail.

A software design review meeting was conducted (Task 2.0). A CFD Viewer was developed, to allow the process analyst to view CFD results from the process simulator (Task 2.14). Work on developing a CO wrapper for the INDVU code was continued (Task 2.15). The model-edit GUI was modified to allow the user to specify a solution strategy. Enhancements were made to the solution strategy implementation (Task 2.16). Testing of the integrated software was continued and several bug fixes and enhancements were made: ability to expose CFD parameters to the process analyst and support for velocity and pressure inlet boundary conditions (Task 2.21). Work on preparing the release version progressed: Version 0.3 of V21 Controller was released, a global configuration dialog was implemented, and a code review process was initiated (Task 2.24). The calibration of the tube bank CFD model for the RP&L case was completed. While integrating the tube bank CFD model into the flow sheet model, several development requirements were identified and communicated to the developers. The requirements of porting V21 Controller and Configuration Wizard to FLUENT 6.1, turning off the transfer of temperature dependent properties, exposing CFD parameters in Aspen Plus and supporting velocity boundary conditions have been implemented (Task 4.1). An initial grid for the HRSG component has been prepared (Task 4.2). A web-based advisory board meeting was conducted on December 18, 2003 (Task 5.0). Project personnel attended and gave presentations at the Aspen World Conference, October 28-30, 2002; AIChE Annual Meeting, November 8, 2002; and the Vision 21 Simulation meeting at Iowa State University, November 19-20, 2002 (Task 7.0).

This Test Plan describes the testing and chemical analyses release rate studies on tank residual samples collected following the retrieval of waste from the tank. This work will provide the data required to develop a contaminant release model for the tank residuals from both sludge and salt cake single-shell tanks. The data are intended for use in the long-term performance assessment and conceptual model development.

nonresidential Alternative Calculation Method (ACM) of the Title-24 Standards. The AEC team identified gaps between EnergyPlus modeling capabilities and the requirements of Title 24 and ACMs. AEC's evaluation was based on the 2005 version of Title 24 and ACMs and the version 1.2.1 of EnergyPlus released on October 1, 2004. AEC's evaluation is useful for understanding the functionality and technical merits of EnergyPlus for implementing the performance-based compliance methods described in the ACMs. However, it did not study the performance of EnergyPlus in actually making building energy simulations for both the standard and proposed building designs, as is required for any software program to be certified by the CEC for use in doing Title-24 compliance calculations. In 2005, CEC funded LBNL to evaluate the use of EnergyPlus for compliance calculations by comparing the ACM accuracy test runs between DOE-2.1E and EnergyPlus. LBNL team identified key technical issues that must be addressed before EnergyPlus can be considered by the CEC for use in developing future Nonresidential Title-24 Standards or as an ACM tool. With Title 24 being updated to the 2008 version (which adds new requirements to the standards and ACMs), and EnergyPlus having been through several update cycles from version 1.2.1 to 2.1, it becomes crucial to review and update the previously identified gaps of EnergyPlus for use in Title 24, and more importantly to close the gaps which would help pave the way for EnergyPlus to be adopted as a Title 24 compliance ACM. With this as the key driving force, CEC funded LBNL in 2008 through this PIER (Public Interest Energy Research) project with the overall technical goal to expand development of EnergyPlus to provide for its use in Title-24 standard compliance and by CEC staff.

The training of a new project team member was completed (Task 2.1). The Software Requirements Document was written (Task 2.3). It was determined that the CAPE-OPEN interfaces are sufficient for the communication between Fluent and V21 Controller (Task 2.4). The AspenPlus-Fluent prototype on allyl/triacetone alcohol production was further developed to assist the GUI and software design tasks. The prototype was also used to analyze the sensitivity of a process simulation result with respect to a parameter in a CFD model embedded in the process simulation. Thus the integration of process simulation and CFD provides additional process insights and enables the engineer to optimize overall process performance (e.g., product purity and yield) with respect to important CFD design and operation parameters (e.g., CSTR shaft speed). A top-level design of the V21 Controller was developed and discussed. A draft version of the Software Design Document was written (Task 2.5/2.6). A preliminary software development plan was outlined. At first the V21 Controller will be developed and tested in two parts--a part that communicates with Fluent and a part that communicates with Aspen Plus. Then the two parts will be combined and tested with the allyl/triacetone alcohol flow sheet simulation. Much progress was made in writing the code for the two parts (Task 2.7). A requirement for pre-configured models was identified and added to the software requirements document (Task 2.9). Alstom Power's INDVU code was ported to the PC platform and calibrated. Aspen Plus model of the RP&L unit was improved to reflect the latest information received on the unit. Thus the preparation for linking INDVU code with the Aspen Plus model of RP&L unit is complete (Task 2.14). A report describing Demo Case 1 was written and submitted to DOE for review and approval (Task 3.1). The first Advisory Board meeting was held at the Fluent Users Group Meeting on June 6th. At the Advisory Board meeting, the project was

On August 1, and 2, 2006, 104 scientists representing 40 institutions including 24 Universities and 5 National Laboratories gathered at the W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a National scientific user facility, to outline important science challenges for the next decade and identify major capabilities needed to pursue advanced research in the environmental molecular sciences. EMSLâs four science themes served as the framework for the workshop. The four science themes are 1) Biological Interactions and Interfaces, 2) Geochemistry/Biogeochemistry and Surface Science, 3) Atmospheric Aerosol Chemistry, and 4) Science of Interfacial Phenomena.

This study has demonstrated the capability of combining the results of thermal-hydraulic and fuel rod response computer codes to produce audit-type calculations for a pressurized water reactor equipped with a relatively new form of emergency core cooling systems. Models intended specifically for use with such systems were incorporated into the codes, sample calculations were performed, and very cursory comparisons with vendor-supplied results were made. In calculations of the blowdown phase of a large break loss-of-coolant accident, models for fuel rod surface quenching and for separated two-phase flow were observed to have significant effects on peak cladding temperatures and on system conditions at the beginning of core reflood. Models used for the reflood phase, particularly the model for carryover-rate fraction, were also seen to have important consequences. While the demonstration of audit capability was successful, there remain questions connected with details of coupling between the codes, and with uniformity of models as used in all phases of the calculations.

The community of New Bedford, Massachusetts, site of one of the world`s worst underwater polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) dumps, is undergoing a second attempt to choose the method for the first phase of the harbor Superfund site clean-up. The first attempt, which some termed a ``model public participation process,`` ended unfruitfully when the larger community rejected the selected remedy. The authors examine how a new effort -- the ongoing New Bedford Harbor Superfund Forum -- is working to instill in its participants the technical understanding and capability to assist in the selection of a remedy, as well as creating a larger sense of community ownership that will outlive the process. This article briefly reviews the first attempt at public participation and the factors that contributed to its dissolution, and then examines the current forum and the changes that increase the likelihood of the community accepting the forum`s recommendation.

A workshop was held at the Idaho National Laboratory on May 25, 2005, to discuss the development of a next generation lead or lead-alloy coolant test facility. Attendees included representatives from the Generation IV lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) program, Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, and several universities. Several participants gave presentations on coolant technology, existing experimental facilities for lead and lead-alloy research, the current LFR design concept, and a design by Argonne National Laboratory for an integral heavy liquid metal test facility. Discussions were focused on the critical research and development requirements for deployment of an LFR demonstration test reactor, the experimental scope of the proposed coolant test facility, a review of the Argonne National Laboratory test facility design, and a brief assessment of the necessary path forward and schedule for the initial stages of this development project. This report provides a summary of the presentations and roundtable discussions.

Project objectives: Develop a general framework for effective flow of water, steam and heat in in porous and fractured geothermal formations. Develop a computational module for handling coupled effects of pressure, temperature, and induced rock deformations. Develop a reliable model of heat transfer and fluid flow in fractured rocks.

This report covers the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office's testing, manufacturing, and component development projects for utility-scale and distributed wind energy from fiscal years 2006 to 2014.

NISACCapabilities content top Capabilities Synopsis of NISAC Modeling Capabilities NISAC designed advanced modeling and simulation capabilities to analyze critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, interdependencies, and complexities. These analyses are used to aid our nation's decisionmakers in policy-making, assessments, mitigation planning, education, training, and real-time assistance to crisis response organizations. The domains in which we work are large, complex, dynamic, adaptive,

This report presents 9 test problems to guide testing and development of hybrid calculations for the ADVANTG code at ORNL. These test cases can be used for comparing different types of radiation transport calculations, as well as for guiding the development of variance reduction methods. Cases are drawn primarily from existing or previous calculations with a preference for cases which include experimental data, or otherwise have results with a high level of confidence, are non-sensitive, and represent problem sets of interest to NA-22.

This Integrated Program of Experimental Diagnostics at the NNSS is an integrated prioritized work plan for the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), formerly the Nevada Test Site (NTS), program that is independent of individual National Security Enterprise Laboratoriesâ (Labs) requests or specific Subprograms being supported. This prioritized work plan is influenced by national priorities presented in the Predictive Capability Framework (PCF) and other strategy documents (Primary and Secondary Assessment Technologies Plans and the Plutonium Experiments Plan). This document satisfies completion criteria for FY 2010 MRT milestone #3496: Document an integrated, prioritized work plan for diagnostic development, maintenance, and supporting capability. This document is an update of the 3-year NNSS plan written a year ago, September 21, 2009, to define and understand Lab requests for diagnostic implementation. This plan is consistent with Lab interpretations of the PCF, Primary Assessment Technologies, and Plutonium Experiment plans.

A comprehensive corrosion research project consisting of pilot-scale combustion testing and long-term laboratory corrosion study has been successfully performed. A pilot-scale combustion facility available at Brigham Young University was selected and modified to enable burning of pulverized coals under the operating conditions typical for advanced coal-fired utility boilers. Eight United States (U.S.) coals were selected for this investigation, with the test conditions for all coals set to have the same heat input to the combustor. In addition, the air/fuel stoichiometric ratio was controlled so that staged combustion was established, with the stoichiometric ratio maintained at 0.85 in the burner zone and 1.15 in the burnout zone. The burner zone represented the lower furnace of utility boilers, while the burnout zone mimicked the upper furnace areas adjacent to the superheaters and reheaters. From this staged combustion, approximately 3% excess oxygen was attained in the combustion gas at the furnace outlet. During each of the pilot-scale combustion tests, extensive online measurements of the flue gas compositions were performed. In addition, deposit samples were collected at the same location for chemical analyses. Such extensive gas and deposit analyses enabled detailed characterization of the actual combustion environments existing at the lower furnace walls under reducing conditions and those adjacent to the superheaters and reheaters under oxidizing conditions in advanced U.S. coal-fired utility boilers. The gas and deposit compositions were then carefully simulated in a series of 1000-hour laboratory corrosion tests, in which the corrosion performances of different commercial candidate alloys and weld overlays were evaluated at various temperatures for advanced boiler systems. Results of this laboratory study led to significant improvement in understanding of the corrosion mechanisms operating on the furnace walls as well as superheaters and reheaters in

Research Capabilities Research Capabilities These capabilities are our science and engineering at work for the national security interest in areas from global climate to cyber security, from nonproliferation to new materials, from clean energy, to supercomputing. thumbnail of Bioscience At Los Alamos, scientists and engineers are working to unlock many of the mechanisms found in nature to improve humanity's ability to battle diseases, create new forms of environmentally friendly and abundant

While window frames typically represent 20-30% of the overall window area, their impact on the total window heat transfer rates may be much larger. This effect is even greater in low-conductance (highly insulating) windows that incorporate very low-conductance glazing. Developing low-conductance window frames requires accurate simulation tools for product research and development. Based on a literature review and an evaluation of current methods of modeling heat transfer through window frames, we conclude that current procedures specified in ISO standards are not sufficiently adequate for accurately evaluating heat transfer through the low-conductance frames. We conclude that the near-term priorities for improving the modeling of heat transfer through low-conductance frames are: (1) Add 2D view-factor radiation to standard modeling and examine the current practice of averaging surface emissivity based on area weighting and the process of making an equivalent rectangular frame cavity. (2) Asses 3D radiation effects in frame cavities and develop recommendation for inclusion into the design fenestration tools. (3) Assess existing correlations for convection in vertical cavities using CFD. (4) Study 2D and 3D natural convection heat transfer in frame cavities for cavities that are proven to be deficient from item 3 above. Recommend improved correlations or full CFD modeling into ISO standards and design fenestration tools, if appropriate. (5) Study 3D hardware short-circuits and propose methods to ensure that these effects are incorporated into ratings. (6) Study the heat transfer effects of ventilated frame cavities and propose updated correlations.

Computers have been used for 3D modeling and simulation, but only recently have computational resources been able to give realistic results in a reasonable time frame for large complex models. This report addressed the methods, techniques, and resources used to develop a prototype for using 3D modeling and simulation engine to improve risk analysis and evaluate reactor structures and components for a given scenario. The simulations done for this evaluation were focused on external events, specifically tsunami floods, for a hypothetical nuclear power facility on a coastline.

The basic objective of this research is to develop a model to simulate the performance and cost of oxyfuel combustion systems to capture CO{sub 2} at fossil-fuel based power plants. The research also aims at identifying the key parameters that define the performance and costs of these systems, and to characterize the uncertainties and variability associated with key parameters. The final objective is to integrate the oxyfuel model into the existing IECM-CS modeling framework so as to have an analytical tool to compare various carbon management options on a consistent basis.

The current fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure is not sustainable. Solar radiation is a plausible alternative, but realizing it as such will require significant technological advances in the ability to harvest light energy and convert it into suitable fuels. The biological system of photosynthesis can carry out these reactions, and in principle could be engineered using the tools of synthetic biology. One desirable implementation would be to rewire the reactions of a photosynthetic bacterium to direct the energy harvested from solar radiation into the synthesis of the biofuel H2. Proposed here is a series of experiments to lay the basic science groundwork for such an attempt. The goal is to elucidate the transcriptional network of photosynthesis using a novel driver-reporter screen, evolve more robust hydrogenases for improved catalysis, and to test the ability of the photosynthetic machinery to directly produce H2 in vivo. The results of these experiments will have broad implications for the understanding of photosynthesis, enzyme function, and the engineering of biological systems for sustainable energy production. The ultimate impact could be a fundamental transformation of the world's energy economy.

To complete project planning, various project groups conducted several meetings and teleconferences. As a result a draft project management plan was written and circulated. The plan will be finalized in a project kick off meeting to be held on January 16, 2001 in Lebanon, NH, which will be attended by all project participants (Task 1.0). Various project personnel have been trained in the use of Fluent and Aspen Plus, which completes all the training tasks except for Aspen Plus and IDL training for Alstom Power (Task 2.1). A preliminary version of User Requirements Document (preURD) was written. This document will be sent to key users of Aspen Plus and FLUENT and their responses will be collected in January (Task 2.3). A prototype of Fluent integration with Aspen Plus was constructed for understanding the required software design. The development of a general architecture for the integrated software suite has been started (Task 2.6). Invitation letters for participation in an Advisory Board were sent out to several Vision 21 contractors. Their responses will be used to form an Advisory Board in January (Task 5.0). Fluent has awarded subcontracts to Alstom Power, CERC, and Aspen Tech and negotiations with Intergraph are underway. Aspen Plus and FLUENT were installed on a computer at CERC. The design of a project web site was completed, and the site setup was started (Task 7.0).

DOE Vision 21 project requirements for the support of Global CAPE-OPEN Reaction Kinetics interfaces in Aspen Plus 12 was written (Task 2.4). The software design document was written and posted on the project web site. Intergraph started work on a proof of concept demo of the physical domain software (Task 2.6). The COM-side (Aspen Plus) and CORBA-side (Fluent) pieces of the Vision 21 controller code were written and independently verified. The two pieces of the code were then combined. Debugging of the combined code is underway (Task 2.7). Papers on fuel cell processes were read in preparation for developing an example based on a fuel cell process (Task 2.8). The INDVU code has been used to replace the boiler component in the Aspen Plus flowsheet of the RP&L power plant. The INDVU code receives information from Aspen Plus and iterates on the split backpass LTSH bypass and excess air quantities until the stipulated superheat outlet temperature is satisfied. The combined INDVU-Aspen Plus model has been run for several load conditions (Task 2.14). Work on identifying a second demonstration case involving an advanced power cycle has been started (Task 3.2). Plans for the second Advisory Board meeting in November were made (Task 5.0). Intergraph subcontract was signed and work on a physical domain software demo was started. A second teleconference with Norsk Hydro was conducted to discuss Global CAPE-OPEN standards and issues related to COM-CORBA Bridge (Task 7.0).

This presentation was given at the Wind Energy IQ conference in Bremen, Germany, November 30 through December 2, 2105. It focused on the next-generation drivetrain architecture and drivetrain technology development and testing (including gearbox and inverter software and medium-voltage inverter modules.

Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2) Frequently Asked Questions 1) What is the C2M2 model? The C2M2 is a voluntary evaluation process utilizing industry-accepted cybersecurity practices that can be used to measure the maturity of an organization's cybersecurity capabilities. The C2M2 is designed to measure both the sophistication and sustainment of a cyber security program. The model

This milestone has been accomplished. The Heavy Ion Fusion Science Virtual National Laboratory (HIFS-VNL) has developed and implemented an initial beam-in-plasma implicit modeling capability in Warp; has carried out tests validating the behavior of the models employed; has compared the results of electrostatic and electromagnetic models when applied to beam expansion in an NDCX-I relevant regime; has compared Warp and LSP results on a problem relevant to NDCX-I; has modeled wave excitation by a rigid beam propagating through plasma; and has implemented and begun testing a more advanced implicit method that correctly captures electron drift motion even when timesteps too large to resolve the electron gyro-period are employed. The HIFS-VNL is well on its way toward having a state-of-the-art source-to-target simulation capability that will enable more effective support of ongoing experiments in the NDCX series and allow more confident planning for future ones.

experimental capabilities Experimental Capabilities The National Ignition Facility is the premier high energy density science facility in the world, with laser energies 10 times greater than any other high-energy inertial confinement fusion (ICF) laser system. A major focus of NIF is a national effort to demonstrate ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory. NIF also conducts a variety of experiments to study matter at the extremes, including studies of material properties,

The intent of the work is for RFMD and NREL to cooperate in the development of a commercially viable and high volume capable process to manufacture high performance photovoltaic cells, based on inverted metamorphic (IMM) GaAs technology. The successful execution of the agreement will result in the production of a PV cell using technology that is capable of conversion efficiency at par with the market at the time of release (reference 2009: 37-38%), using RFMD's production facilities. The CRADA work has been divided into three phases: (1) a foundation phase where the teams will demonstrate the manufacturing of a basic PV cell at RFMD's production facilities; (2) a technology demonstration phase where the teams will demonstrate the manufacturing of prototype PV cells using IMM technology at RFMD's production facilities, and; (3) a production readiness phase where the teams will demonstrate the capability to manufacture PV cells using IMM technology with high yields, high reliability, high reproducibility and low cost.

The Alternative Fuels Field Test Unit (AFFTU) is a portable laboratory designed specifically to provide on-site evaluation of potential feedstocks for processes that produce alternative fuels from indigenous raw materials such as coal, natural gas or environmentally disadvantaged carbonaceous feedstocks. Since conversion of these raw materials into feed gas streams can produce a variety of bulk gas compositions, which furthermore can contain a myriad of trace components, it is necessary to evaluate each new feedstock on an individual basis. While it is possible to prepare blended gas mixtures to simulate the bulk composition of a known feedstock, it is neither possible nor cost-effective to simulate adequately the variety of trace chemicals present in that feedstock--some of which may not even be detected by routine analysis. Additionally, the transient composition of the gas during upsets or routine process changes may have an impact on the proposed process that is not foreseen in standard design. To address these concerns, the AFFTU was constructed with the following experimental capabilities: (1) A state-of-the-art gas chromatograph system to perform semi-continuous monitoring of both bulk composition and the concentration of key trace poisons down to one part per billion (ppb). (2) A 30-mL reactor system that can accept up to two feed streams from the customer, allowing a true life test with the actual gas projected for use in the proposed facility. (3) A manifold of four adsorbent beds, located upstream of the reactor, which permits the testing of adsorbents for the removal of contaminants from the feed stream. The effectiveness of these adsorbents may be evaluated either by analysis of the gas upstream and downstream of the bed (or at an intermediate point within the bed) or by observing the impact of the presence or absence of that bed on the actual stability of the catalyst activity. To achieve portability, the AFFTU was constructed in a commercial 48-foot

This paper describes the development and commissioning tests of the new Clarkson University/Center for Evaluation of Clean Energy Technology Blade Test Facility. The facility is a result of the collaboration between the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Intertek, and is supported by national and international partners. This paper discusses important aspects associated with blade testing and includes results associated with modal, static, and fatigue testing performed on the Sandia National Laboratories' Blade Systems Design Studies blade. An overview of the testcapabilities of the Blade Test Facility are also provided.

cams capabilities CAMS Capabilities HVEC 10 MV Model FN Tandem Of the three accelerators CAMS utilizes the largest is the HVEC 10 MV Model FN Tandem, which was obtained from the University of Washington and installed at LLNL in the mid-80s. During installation the accelerator's belt charging system was replaced with a NEC Pelletron, new Dowlish spiral-inclined beam tubes were installed, as were the gas-handling systems necessary for use of SF6 as the insulating tank gas. The FN accelerator is

A capability for the analysis of krypton-85 (85Kr) in groundwater samples was developed at LLNL. Samples are collected by extracting gas from 2000-4000 L of groundwater at the well, yielding approximately 0.2 cm3 STP krypton. Sample collection takes 1 to 4 hours. Krypton is purified in the laboratory using a combination of molecular sieve and activated charcoal traps, and transferred to a liquid scintillation vial. The 85Kr activity is measured by liquid scintillation on a Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counter from PerkinElmer. The detection limit for a typical 0.2 cm3Kr sample size is 11% of the present day activity in air, corresponding to the decay corrected activity in air in 1987. The typical measurement uncertainty is below 10% for recently recharged samples. Six groundwater samples were collected, purified and counted. 85Kr was not detected in any of the samples counted at LLNL. 85Kr was detected by the low level counting laboratory of Bern University in all samples between 1.5 and 6.6 decays per minute per cm3 krypton, corresponding to decay corrected activities in air between 1971 and 1985. The new capability is an excellent complement to tritium-helium, expanding the existing suite of age dating tools available to the GAMA program (35S, 3H/3He, 14C and radiogenic helium). 85Kr can replace 3H/3He in settings where 3H/3He ages are impossible to determine (for example where terrigenic helium overwhelms tritiogenic helium) and provides additional insight into travel time distributions in complex mixed groundwater systems.

The uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy in a monolithic form has been proposed as one fuel design capable of converting some of the worldâs highest power research reactors from the use of high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU). One aspect of the fuel development and qualification process is to demonstrate appropriate understanding of thermal conductivity behavior of the fuel system as a function of temperature and expected irradiation conditions. The purpose of this paper is to verify and validate the functionality of equipment methods installed in hot cells for eventual measurements on irradiated uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) monolithic fuel specimens, procedures to operate the equipment, and models to extract the desired thermal properties. The results presented here demonstrate the adequacy of the equipment, procedures and models that have been developed for this purpose based on measurements conducted on surrogate depleted uranium-molybdenum (DU-Mo) alloy samples containing a zirconium diffusion barrier and clad in aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061). The results are in excellent agreement with thermal property data reported in the literature for similar U-Mo alloys as a function of temperature.

We have constructed and tested a small device to produce ice in ice/water mixtures using a cold fluid as the heat sink. The device is a flexible heat exchanger constructed from a thin film of a suitable polymer. When filled with circulating liquid coolant the heat exchanger consists of an inflated series of parallel tubes; ice forms on the outside in complementary half cylinders. When the circulation is cut off, gravity drains the coolant and the static head of the water bath crushes the tubes, freeing them from the ice which floats to the surface. Brine circulation is then re-started and the cycle begins again. Here we report recent testing of this device: it makes ice readily under water and easily sheds the semi-cylinders of ice over many cycles of operation. It produces ice at a rate of 10 kg/m{sup 2}-hour. It offers substantial benefits in simplicity and reliability over mechanical harvester ice making systems, and the potential for significant improvements in energy efficiency compared to systems which use a re-heat cycle to harvest the ice. A reliable method of leak detection has been developed. The device should be of substantial value to systems where efficiency and reliability are at a premium, such as slush ice for district cooling.

The Federal Technical Capability Manual provides the process for the recruitment, deployment, development, and retention of Federal personnel with the demonstrated technical capability to safely accomplish the Departments missions and responsibilities at defense nuclear facilities. Canceled by DOE M 426.1-1A. Does not cancel other directives.

This directive defines requirements and responsibilities for meeting the Department of Energy (DOE) commitment to recruiting, deploying, developing, and retaining a technically competent workforce that will accomplish DOE missions in a safe and efficient manner through the Federal Technical Capability Program (FTCP). Cancels DOE M 426.1-1A, Federal Technical Capability Manual.

Blade testing is required to meet wind turbine design standards, reduce machine cost, and reduce the technical and financial risk of deploying mass-produced wind turbine models. NREL?s National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) in Colorado is the only blade test facility in the U.S. capable of performing full-scale static and fatigue testing of multi-megawatt-scale wind turbine blades. Rapid growth in wind turbine size over the past two decades has outstripped the size capacity of the NWTC blade test facility leaving the U.S. wind industry without a suitable means of testing blades for large land-based and offshore turbines. This CRADA will develop and commercialize testing technologies and test equipment, including scaling up, value engineering, and testing of equipment to be used at blade testing facilities in the U.S. and around the world.

The major research objectives of this project included the formulation of flow and heat transfer modeling framework for the analysis of flow-induced instabilities in advanced light water nuclear reactors such as boiling water reactors. General multifield model of two-phase flow, including the necessary closure laws. Development of neurton kinetics models compatible with the proposed models of heated channel dynamics. Formulation and encoding of complete coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics models for the analysis of spatially-dependent local core instabilities. Computer simulations aimed at testing and validating the new models of reactor dynamics.

Test Procedure Development and Revision Test Procedure Development and Revision Most energy conservation standards rulemakings are accompanied by a concurrent test procedure rulemaking. Test procedures detail the protocols that manufacturers must follow when testing their products for compliance with Department of Energy (DOE) standards. DOE also uses the test procedures to determine compliance with the applicable standards in any verification or enforcement testing. The procedures specify how

Characterization tools have been developed to study the performance characteristics and reliability of surface micromachined actuators. These tools include (1) the ability to electrically stimulate or stress the actuator, (2) the capability to visually inspect the devices in operation, (3) a method for capturing operational information, and (4) a method to extract performance characteristics from the operational information. Additionally, a novel test structure has been developed to measure electrostatic forces developed by a comb drive actuator.

M-C Power Corp. will design, fabricate, install, test, and evaluate a 250 kW Proof-of-Concept MCFC Power Plant. The plant will be located at Kaiser Permanente`s San Diego Medical Center; it will be designed and built by Bechtel Corp. Two 250 keV MCFC stacks will be assembled and tested at M-C Power; one stack will be used to support the San Diego field demonstration. This report outlines 6 tasks: project management/permitting, demonstration design, stack manufacturing, BOP fabrication, site work, and testing.

A multi-faceted study was initiated in November 1993 to provide assurance that needed testingcapabilities, facilities, and support infrastructure (sampling systems, casks, transportation systems, permits, etc.) would be available when needed for process and equipment development to support pretreatment and vitrification facility design and construction schedules. This first major report provides a snapshot of the known testing needs for pretreatment, low-level waste (LLW) and high-level waste (HLW) vitrification, and documents the results of a series of preliminary studies and workshops to define the issues needing resolution by cold or hot testing. Identified in this report are more than 140 Hanford Site tank waste pretreatment and LLW/HLW vitrification technology issues that can only be resolved by testing. The report also broadly characterizes the level of testing needed to resolve each issue. A second report will provide a strategy(ies) for ensuring timely testcapability. Later reports will assess the capabilities of existing facilities to support needed testing and will recommend siting of the tests together with needed facility and infrastructure upgrades or additions.

Top Capabilities Directed Energy Laser Applications Integrated Military Systems (IMS) Capabilities What We Do Supporting Sandia's national security mission in both traditional and emerging areas Alt text Areas of Expertise Integrated Military Systems (IMS) supports Sandia's national security mission in both traditional and emerging areas. Drawing on over six decades of weapons work and expertise, IMS continues to develop and refine many elements of strike systems, targets, and missile defense

Capabilities The NREL geothermal team leverages its capabilities in several different areas to enhance the visibility of geothermal technologies. These areas include low-temperature resources; enhanced geothermal systems; strategic planning, analysis, and modeling; and project assessment. Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources NREL works to develop and deploy innovative new technologies that will help the geothermal community achieve widespread adoption of under-utilized low-temperature resources

While the methodology used in developingtest items can vary significantly, to ensure quality examinations, test items should be developed systematically. Test design and development is discussed in the DOE Guide to Good Practices for Design, Development, and Implementation of Examinations. This guide is intended to be a supplement by providing more detailed guidance on the development of specific test items. This guide addresses the development of written examination test items primarily. However, many of the concepts also apply to oral examinations, both in the classroom and on the job. This guide is intended to be used as guidance for the classroom and laboratory instructor or curriculum developer responsible for the construction of individual test items. This document focuses on written test items, but includes information relative to open-reference (open book) examination test items, as well. These test items have been categorized as short-answer, multiple-choice, or essay. Each test item format is described, examples are provided, and a procedure for development is included. The appendices provide examples for writing test items, a test item development form, and examples of various test item formats.

Establishes the pilot program to test the Department of Energy (DOE) Electronic Mail Analysis Capability (EMAC), which will be used to monitor and analyze outgoing and incoming electronic mail (e-mail) from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and DOE laboratories that are engaged in nuclear weapons design or work involving special nuclear material. No cancellation.

Abstract Formal standards, precedents, and best practices for verifying and validating the behavior of low layer network devices used for digital evidence-collection on networks are badly needed initially so that these can be employed directly by device owners and data users to document the behaviors of these devices for courtroom presentation, and ultimately so that calibration testing and calibration regimes are established and standardized as common practice for both vendors and their customers [1]. The ultimate intent is to achieve a state of confidence in device calibration that allows the network data gathered by them to be relied upon by all parties in a court of law. This paper describes a methodology for calibrating forensic-ready low layer network devices based on the Flaw Hypothesis Methodology [2,3].

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as the rest of the U.S. Department of Energy community, has numerous off-gas stacks that need to be decommissioned, demolished, and packaged for disposal. Disposal requires a waste disposition determination phase. Process knowledge typically makes a worst-case scenario decision that may place lower-level waste into a more expensive higher-level waste disposal category. Truly useful radiological and chemical sampling can be problematic on old stacks due to their inherent height and access hazards, and many of these stacks have begun to deteriorate structurally. A remote stack characterization system (SCS) that can manage sample and data collection removes people from the hazards and provides an opportunity for access to difficult to reach internal stack areas. The SCS is a remotely operated articulated radiological data recovery system designed to deploy down into off-gas stacks from the top via crane. The battery-powered SCS is designed to stabilize itself against the stack walls and move various data recovery systems into areas of interest on the inner stack walls. Stabilization is provided by a tripod structure; sensors are mounted in a rotatable bipod underneath the tripod. Sensors include a beta/gamma/alpha detector, a removable contaminant multi-sample automated sampler, and a multi-core remote core drill. Multiple cameras provide remote task viewing, support for sampling, and video documentation of the process. A delay in funding has delayed project delivery somewhat. Therefore, this paper describes the technology and shows fabrication and testing progress to the extent that data is available.

The multifuel, stratified charge engine program launched by United Parcel Service in 1978 has progressed through two years of field tests. The mechanical and electronic experience with the field test engine is covered in detail, with problems and causes identified and solutions described. Also included are reports on research initiated as a consequence of problems that appeared in the field test engines. All aspects of engine performance are covered, including fuel economy, multifuel experience, emissions testing and tuning, maintenance expectations and driver reactions. The original 350-engine field test was run with many components newly designed or modified, and relatively untested. Component and reliability problems identified in the field test have prompted modifications, and the engines are being reworked for the start of a new 200-engine field test. Research studies conducted on the field test engine have produced very encouraging emissions data, which suggests that the low-load hydrocarbon problem historically associated with this technology is not a barrier to commercial application. The engine appears capable of passing the heavy duty gasoline engine transient test.

Verification and validation of design and modeling activities for radioisotope powered Mars Hopper platforms undertaken at the Center for Space Nuclear Research is essential for proof of concept. Previous research at the center has driven the selection of advanced material combinations; some of which require specialized handling capabilities. The development of a closed and contained test facility to forward this research is discussed within this paper.

This document contains descriptions of Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T) Metrology capabilities, traceability flow charts, and the measurement uncertainty of each measurement capability. Metrology provides NIST traceable precision measurements or equipment calibration for a wide variety of parameters, ranges, and state-of-the-art uncertainties. Metrology laboratories conform to the requirements of the Department of Energy Development and Production Manual Chapter 13.2, ANSI/ISO/IEC ANSI/ISO/IEC 17025:2005, and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1. FM&T Metrology laboratories are accredited by NVLAP for the parameters, ranges, and uncertainties listed in the specific scope of accreditation under NVLAP Lab code 200108-0. See the Internet at http://ts.nist.gov/Standards/scopes/2001080.pdf. These parameters are summarized. The Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T) Metrology Department has developed measurement technology and calibration capability in four major fields of measurement: (1) Mechanical; (2) Environmental, Gas, Liquid; (3) Electrical (DC, AC, RF/Microwave); and (4) Optical and Radiation. Metrology Engineering provides the expertise to develop measurement capabilities for virtually any type of measurement in the fields listed above. A strong audit function has been developed to provide a means to evaluate the calibration programs of our suppliers and internal calibration organizations. Evaluation includes measurement audits and technical surveys.

Three previous IECEC papers describe the development of an 11-watt Radioisotope Stirling Generator (RSG) intended for remote power applications. This paper describes more recent testing and development activities. Testing of the engineering model (EM) was performed to determine the effect of heat rejection temperature, thermal input and initial charge pressure on thermal efficiency. Shock testing of the generator included a drop test and 3 hours of testing in a random vibration environment where g{sup 2}/Hz = 0.04. Endurance testing of a complete Stirling converter continues, with over 15,000 maintenance-free operating hours. Endurance testing of critical subsystems and components has achieved 14,000 to 26,000 hours of operation without failure. Minor changes to the RSG prototype design, based on the development of the EM, are described.

netl research capabilities NETL Research Scientist As the lead field center for the DOE Office of Fossil Energy's R&D program, NETL has established a strong onsite research program conducted by federal scientists and engineers. Onsite R&D is managed by NETL's Office of Research and Development (ORD) and makes important contributions to NETL's mission of implementing a research, development, and demonstration program to resolve the environmental, supply, and reliability constraints of

A recent report found that power and heat produced from enhanced (or engineered) geothermal systems (EGSs) could have a major impact on the U.S energy production capability while having a minimal impact on the environment. EGS resources differ from high-grade hydrothermal resources in that they lack sufficient temperature distribution, permeability/porosity, fluid saturation, or recharge of reservoir fluids. Therefore, quantitative characterization of temperature distributions and the surface area available for heat transfer in EGS is necessary for the design and commercial development of the geothermal energy of a potential EGS site. The goal of this project is to provide integrated tracer and tracer interpretation tools to facilitate this characterization. This project was initially focused on tracer development with the application of perfluorinated tracer (PFT) compounds, non-reactive tracers used in numerous applications from atmospheric transport to underground leak detection, to geothermal systems, and evaluation of encapsulated PFTs that would release tracers at targeted reservoir temperatures. After the 2011 midyear review and subsequent discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technology Program (GTP), emphasis was shifted to interpretive tool development, testing, and validation. Subsurface modeling capabilities are an important component of this project for both the design of suitable tracers and the interpretation of data from in situ tracer tests, be they single- or multi-well tests. The purpose of this report is to describe the results of the tracer and model development for simulating and conducting tracer tests for characterizing EGS parameters.

Administration | (NNSA) Programs Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Forty-eight final optic assemblies are symmetrically distributed around the upper and lower hemispheres of the target chamber of the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory The Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation directs research, development, computer simulation, and inertial confinement fusion activities to maintain the safety, security and effectiveness of the

Trinity / NERSC-8 Capability Improvement Trinity / NERSC-8 Capability Improvement As stated in Section 3.5 of the Technical Requirements, The performance of the ASC and NERSC capability improvement code suites will be evaluated at acceptance and used as acceptance criteria. All performance tests must continue to meet acceptance criteria throughout the lifetime of the system. These spreadsheets are here to provide examples but do not have to be returned with RFP response and will be required of

To meet long-term objectives to transform the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), we are providing an integrated, long-term vision of infrastructure requirements that support research, development and demonstration (RD&D) goals outlined in the DOE strategic plans, including the NE Roadmap and reports such as Facilities for the Future of Nuclear Energy Research: A Twenty-year Outlook. The goal of the INL Ten-year Site Plan (TYSP) is to clearly link RD&D mission goals and INL core capabilities with infrastructure requirements (single and multi-program), establish the 10-year end-state vision for INL complexes, identify and prioritize infrastructure and capability gaps, as well as the most efficient and economic approaches to closing those gaps.

Clipper Windpower (CWP) has developed the Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbine. The development, manufacturing, and certification process depends heavily on being able to validate the full-scale system design and performance under load in both an accredited structural test facility and through accredited field testing. CWP requested that DOE/ NREL upgrade blade testcapabilities to perform a scope of work including structural testing of the C-96 blade used on the CWP Liberty turbine. This funds-in CRADA was developed to upgrade NREL blade testcapability, while enabling certification testing of the C-96 blade through the facility and equipment upgrades. NREL shared resource funds were used to develop hardware necessary to structurally attach a large wind turbine to the test stand at the NWTC. Participant funds-in monies were used for developing the test program.

This document contains descriptions of Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T) Metrology capabilities, traceability flow charts, and the measurement uncertainty of each measurement capability. Metrology provides NIST traceable precision measurements or equipment calibration for a wide variety of parameters, ranges, and state-of-the-art uncertainties. Metrology laboratories conform to the requirements of the Department of Energy Development and Production Manual Chapter 8.4, ANSI/ISO/IEC ANSI/ISO/IEC 17025:2000, and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 (equivalent to ISO Guide 25). FM&T Metrology laboratories are accredited by NVLAP for the parameters, ranges, and uncertainties listed in the specific scope of accreditation under NVLAP Lab code 200108-0. See the Internet at http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/214/scopes/2001080.pdf. These parameters are summarized in the table at the bottom of this introduction.

The Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory (DIAL) at Mississippi State University (MSU), under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Contract No. DE-AC02-80ET-15601, Diagnostic Development and Support of MHD Test Facilities, developed diagnostic instruments for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power train data acquisition and for support of MHD component developmenttest facilities. Microprocessor-controlled optical instruments, initially developed for Heat Recovery/Seed Recovery (HRSR) support, were refined, and new systems to measure temperatures and gas-seed-slag stream characteristics were developed. To further data acquisition and analysis capabilities, the diagnostic systems were interfaced with DIAL`s computers. Technical support was provided for the diagnostic needs of the national MHD research effort. DIAL personnel also cooperated with government agencies and private industries to improve the transformation of research and development results into processes, products and services applicable to their needs. The initial contract, Testing and Evaluation of Heat Recovery/Seed Recovery, established a data base on heat transfer, slagging effects on heat transfer surfaces, metal durability, secondary combustor performance, secondary combustor design requirements, and other information pertinent to the design of HR/SR components at the Coal-Fired Flow Facility (CFFF). To accomplish these objectives, a combustion test stand was constructed that simulated MHD environments, and mathematical models were developed and evaluated for the heat transfer in hot-wall test sections. Two transitions occurred during the span of this contract. In May 1983, the objectives and title of the contract changed from Testing and Evaluation of Heat Recovery/Seed Recovery to Diagnostic Development and Support of MHD Test Facilities. In July 1988, the research laboratory`s name changed from the MHD Energy Center to the Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory.

The objective of this report is to summarize the component development and laboratory binder test work at Wilsonville during Task 6. This Task included the construction and startup of the Component DevelopmentTest Facility (CDTF), coal procurement, evaluation of unit operation and dewatering performance, laboratory binder tests for diesel and heptane, production characterization, and vendor tests. Data evaluation, interpretation, and analysis are not included in this report, but will be discussed in the Task 7 report.

This CRADA was developed as a funds-in CRADA with DeWind to assess the suitability of facilities and equipment at the NWTC for performing certification blade testing on wind turbine blades made from advanced materials. DeWind produces a wind turbine blade which includes the use of high-strength and stiffness materials. NREL and DeWind had a mutual interest in defining the necessary facilities, equipment, and test methods for testing large wind turbine blades which incorporate advanced materials and adaptive structures, as the demands on test equipment and infrastructure are greater than current capabilities. Work under this CRADA would enable DeWind to verify domestic capability for certification-class static and fatigue testing, while NREL would be able to identify and develop specialized testcapabilities based on the test requirements.

Fuel handling developmenttesting was performed in support of the Fuel Retrieval System (FRS) Sub-Project at the Hanford Site. The project will retrieve spent nuclear fuel, clean and remove fuel from canisters, repackage fuel into baskets, and load fuel into a multi-canister overpack (MCO) for vacuum drying and interim dry storage. The FRS is required to retrieve basin fuel canisters, clean fuel elements sufficiently of uranium corrosion products (or sludge), empty fuel from canisters, sort debris and scrap from whole elements, and repackage fuel in baskets in preparation for MCO loading. The purpose of fuel handling developmenttesting was to examine the systems ability to accomplish mission activities, optimization of equipment layouts for initial process definition, identification of special needs/tools, verification of required design changes to support performance specification development, and validation of estimated activity times/throughput. The test program was set up to accomplish this purpose through cold developmenttesting using simulated and prototype equipment; cold demonstration testing using vendor expertise and systems; and graphical computer modeling to confirm feasibility and throughput. To test the fuel handling process, a test mockup that represented the process table was fabricated and installed. The test mockup included a Schilling HV series manipulator that was prototypic of the Schilling Hydra manipulator. The process table mockup included the tipping station, sorting area, disassembly and inspection zones, fuel staging areas, and basket loading stations. The test results clearly indicate that the Schilling Hydra arm cannot effectively perform the fuel handling tasks required unless it is attached to some device that can impart vertical translation, azimuth rotation, and X-Y translation. Other test results indicate the importance of camera locations and capabilities, and of the jaw and end effector tool design. 5 refs., 35 figs., 3 tabs.

Laboratory testing and technical evaluation activities on Containerized Cast Stone (CCS) were conducted under the Scope of Work (SOW) contained in CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG) Contract No. 18548 (CHG 2003a). This report presents the results of testing and demonstration activities discussed in SOW Section 3.1, Task I--''Process DevelopmentTesting'', and described in greater detail in the ''Containerized Grout--Phase I Testing and Demonstration Plan'' (CHG, 2003b). CHG (2003b) divided the CCS testing and evaluation activities into six categories, as follows: (1) A short set of tests with simulant to select a preferred dry reagent formulation (DRF), determine allowable liquid addition levels, and confirm the Part 2 test matrix. (2) Waste form performance testing on cast stone made from the preferred DRF and a backup DRF, as selected in Part I, and using low activity waste (LAW) simulant. (3) Waste form performance testing on cast stone made from the preferred DRF using radioactive LAW. (4) Waste form validation testing on a selected nominal cast stone formulation using the preferred DRF and LAW simulant. (5) Engineering evaluations of explosive/toxic gas evolution, including hydrogen, from the cast stone product. (6) Technetium ''getter'' testing with cast stone made with LAW simulant and with radioactive LAW. In addition, nitrate leaching observations were drawn from nitrate leachability data obtained in the course of the Parts 2 and 3 waste form performance testing. The nitrate leachability index results are presented along with other data from the applicable activity categories.

The need for high-temperature (greater than 600 C) energy exchange and delivery systems is significantly increasing as the world strives to improve energy efficiency and develop alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Liquid fluoride salts are one of the few energy transport fluids that have the capability of operating at high temperatures in combination with low system pressures. The Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor design uses fluoride salt to remove core heat and interface with a power conversion system. Although a significant amount of experimentation has been performed with these salts, specific aspects of this reactor concept will require experimental confirmation during the development process. The experimental facility described here has been constructed to support the development of the Fluoride Salt Cooled High Temperature Reactor concept. The facility is capable of operating at up to 700 C and incorporates a centrifugal pump to circulate FLiNaK salt through a removable test section. A unique inductive heating technique is used to apply heat to the test section, allowing heat transfer testing to be performed. An air-cooled heat exchanger removes added heat. Supporting loop infrastructure includes a pressure control system; trace heating system; and a complement of instrumentation to measure salt flow, temperatures, and pressures around the loop. The initial experiment is aimed at measuring fluoride salt heat transfer inside a heated pebble bed similar to that used for the core of the pebble bed advanced high-temperature reactor. This document describes the details of the loop design, auxiliary systems used to support the facility, the inductive heating system, and facility capabilities.

The research and development effort of a new kind of compressor and engine is presented. The superior performance of these two products arises from the superior performance of rotating supersonic shock-wave compression. Several tasks were performed in compliance with the DOE award objectives. A High Risk Technology review was conducted and evaluated by a team of 20 senior engineers and scientists representing various branches of the federal government. The conceptual design of a compression test rig, test rotors, and test cell adaptor was completed. The work conducted lays the foundation for the completed design and testing of the compression test rig, and the design of a supersonic shock-wave compressor matched to a conventional combustor and turbine.

Staff Directory About HEP at Work Career Opportunities Staff Directory Argonne National Laboratory High Energy Physics Research Facilities Capabilities Initiatives Publications News & Events Capabilities Electronics Design and Fabrication High Performance Computing Mechanical Engineering Monte Carlo Simulations Capabilities Argonne's High Energy Physics division maintains a number of key capabilities to augment the research capacities of scientists at Argonne and throughout the high-energy

Many areas of global climate change research could benefit from a flexible, affordable, and near-term platform that could provide in situ measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. To provide such a capability, the Perseus unmanned science research aircraft was proposed in 1989. As a first step toward the development of Perseus, a proof-of-concept (POC) demonstrator was constructed and tested during 1990 and 1991. The POC was a full scale Perseus airframe intended to validate the structural, aerodynamic, and flight control technologies for the Perseus within a total budget of about $1.5 million. Advanced propulsion systems needed for the operational Perseus were not covered in the POC program due to funding limitations. This report documents the design, development, and testing of the Perseus POC.

Statement of Capabilities Statement of Capabilities World-class experts and capabilities countering all aspects of explosive threats, and aiming predominantly at enhanced detection capabilities. What is a SOC Letter? A nonbinding letter, a SOC is written by LACED to a requesting organization. The SOC describes a unique capability or service available from LACED on a non-exclusive basis. A SOC letter is not an endorsement of the requester and does not constitute a guarantee that LACED will

Plate-impact experiments on single stage guns provide very planar loading conditions suitable for studying complex phenomena such as phase transitions and material strength, and provide important data useful for constraining and validating predictive models. The objective of the current work was to develop a large-bore (3.5-inches or greater) powder gun capable of accelerating projectiles to moderately high velocities (greater than 2.25 km/s) for impact experiments at Nevada Test Site. This gun will span a performance gap between existing gun facilities and provide a means of examining phenomena over a wide range of stresses and time-scales. Advantages of the large-bore gun include the capability to load multiple samples simultaneously, the use of large diameter samples that significantly extend the time duration of the experiment, and minimal tilt (no bow). This new capability required the development of a disposable confinement system that used an explosively driven closure method to prevent contamination from moving up into the gun system. Experimental results for both the gun system and the explosive valve are presented.

Plate-impact experiments on single stage guns provide very planar loading conditions suitable for studying complex phenomena such as phase transitions and material strength, and provide important data useful for constraining and validating predictive models. The objective of the current work was to develop a large-bore (3.5'' or greater) powder gun capable of accelerating projectiles to moderately high velocities (greater than 2.25 km/s) for impact experiments at Nevada Test Site. This gun will span a performance gap between existing gun facilities and provide a means of examining phenomena over a wide range of stresses and time-scales. Advantages of the large-bore gun include the capability to load multiple samples simultaneously, the use of large diameter samples that significantly extend the time duration of the experiment, and minimal tilt (no bow). This new capability required the development of a disposable confinement system that used an explosively driven closure method to prevent contamination from moving up into the gun system. Experimental results for both the gun system and the explosive valve are presented.

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, has been designated as Lead Center for the Exploratory Battery Technology Development and Testing Project, which is sponsored by the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Storage and Distribution. In this capacity, Sandia is responsible for the engineering development of advanced rechargeable batteries for both mobile and stationary energy storage applications. This report details the technical achievements realized in pursuit of the Lead Center's goals during calendar year 1989. 4 refs., 84 figs., 18 tabs.

Affordable, safe, long-lasting, high-power batteries are requisites for successful commercialization of hybrid electric vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energyâs Office of Advance Automotive Technologies and the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles are funding research and development programs to address each of these issues. An overview of these areas is presented along with a summary of battery development and test programs, as well as recent performance data from several of these programs.

As an invited guest speaker, Michael Desmond presented on NREL's NWTC structural testing methods and capabilities at the 2014 Sandia Blade Workshop held on August 26-28, 2014 in Albuquerque, NM. Although dynamometer and field testingcapabilities were mentioned, the presentation focused primarily on wind turbine blade testing, including descriptions and capabilities for accredited certification testing, historical methodology and technology deployment, and current research and development activities.

Additions and modifications to the National RF Test Facility design have been made that (1) focus its use for technology development for future large systems in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF), (2) expand its applicability to technology development in the electron cyclotron range of frequencies (ECRF) at 60 GHz, (3) provide a facility for ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT) 60-GHz ring physics studies, and (4) permit engineering studies of steady-state plasma systems, including superconducting magnet performance, vacuum vessel heat flux removal, and microwave protection. The facility will continue to function as a test bed for generic technology developments for ICRF and the lower hybrid range of frequencies (LHRF). The upgraded facility is also suitable for mirror halo physics experiments.

The Product Consistency Test (PCT), American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Standard C1285, is currently used world wide for testing glass and glass-ceramic waste forms for high level waste (HLW), low level waste (LLW), and hazardous wastes. Development of the PCT was initiated in 1986 because HLW glass waste forms required extensive characterization before actual production began and required continued characterization during production ({ge}25 years). Non-radioactive startup was in 1994 and radioactive startup was in 1996. The PCT underwent extensive development from 1986-1994 and became an ASTM consensus standard in 1994. During the extensive laboratory testing and inter- and intra-laboratory round robins using non-radioactive and radioactive glasses, the PCT was shown to be very reproducible, to yield reliable results rapidly, to distinguish between glasses of different durability and homogeneity, and to easily be performed in shielded cell facilities with radioactive samples. In 1997, the scope was broadened to include hazardous and mixed (radioactive and hazardous) waste glasses. In 2002, the scope was broadened to include glass-ceramic waste forms which are currently being recommended for second generation nuclear wastes yet to be generated in the nuclear renaissance. Since the PCT has proven useful for glass-ceramics with up to 75% ceramic component and has been used to evaluate Pu ceramic waste forms, the use of this test for other ceramic/mineral waste forms such as geopolymers, hydroceramics, and fluidized bed steam reformer mineralized product is under investigation.

Capabilities To learn about CNM instruments and capabilities, please click on the group names in the left navigation bar. Access to capabilities, tools, and facilities is provided through a peer-reviewed proposal submission process. Although individual capabilities are managed by one of the specific groups, all of them can be used across the CNM scientific portfolio and requested in a user proposal. Before submitting a proposal for access, prospective users are encouraged to contact staff

Understanding complex hydrologic systems requires the ability to develop, utilize, and interpret both numerical and analytical models. The Defense Waste Management Programs has both experience and technical knowledge to use and develop Earth systems models. Hydrological Modeling Models are simplified representations of reality, which we accept do not capture every detail of reality. Mathematical and numerical models can be used to rigorously test geologic and hydrologic assumptions, determine

Process Control System (PCS) and Industrial Control System (ICS) security is critical to our national security. But there are a number of technological, economic, and educational impediments to PCS owners implementing effective security on their systems. Sandia National Laboratories has performed the research and development of the OPSAID (Open PCS Security Architecture for Interoperable Design), a project sponsored by the US Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (DOE/OE), to address this issue. OPSAID is an open-source architecture for PCS/ICS security that provides a design basis for vendors to build add-on security devices for legacy systems, while providing a path forward for the development of inherently-secure PCS elements in the future. Using standardized hardware, a proof-of-concept prototype system was also developed. This report describes the improvements and capabilities that have been added to OPSAID since an initial report was released. Testing and validation of this architecture has been conducted in another project, Lemnos Interoperable Security Project, sponsored by DOE/OE and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device (PCD), advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high pressure solids handling systems. This report details Test Campaign TC18 of the PSDF gasification process. Test campaign TC18 began on June 23, 2005, and ended on August 22, 2005, with the gasifier train accumulating 1,342 hours of operation using Powder River Basin (PRB) subbituminous coal. Some of the testing conducted included commissioning of a new recycle syngas compressor for gasifier aeration, evaluation of PCD filter elements and failsafes, testing of gas cleanup technologies, and further evaluation of solids handling equipment. At the conclusion of TC18, the PSDF gasification process had been operated for more than 7,750 hours.

Development of the cement grout for the Bell Canyon Test was accomplished at the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, Mississippi. Initial development work centered on a saltwater grout with Class H cement, fly ash, and an expansive additive. Testing of the saltwater grout showed suitable properties except for the interface between anhydrite rock and grout in small core samples. Higher than expected permeability occurred at the interface because of space between the grout and the anhydrite; the space was produced as a result of allowing the specimens to dry. A change to freshwater grout and proper care to prevent the specimens from drying alleviated this condition. The BCT-1FF freshwater grout mixture was used in both the plug ONE and ONEX field grouting operations. Testing of the development grout mixtures was also done at Dowell, Pennsylvania State University, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Results of the testing and evaluation by the four laboratories are included in the report. Field batching, mixing, and placement of the grout at the plug locations for both plug ONE and ONEX were satisfactory with adequate quality control. The freshwater grout mixture maintained adequate flow characteristics for pumpability for 3 1/2 h during each of the two field operations. Physical property and expansivity data for the field samples through 90 days' age are in general agreement with laboratory development data. A large number of samples were obtained for inclusion in the long-term durability studies and the geochemical programs. The high-density, low water-cement ratio expansive grout (BCT-1FF) is considered to be an excellent candidate for plugging boreholes at most locations (except through halite sections).

Planetary formation theory developed, tested: predicts timeline for life After the Big Bang: Theory suggests first planets formed after first generations of stars The researchers' calculations predict properties of first planet and timeline for life. May 3, 2012 image description The researchers state that the formation of Earth-like planets is not itself a sufficient prerequisite for life. Early galaxies contained strong sources of life-threatening radiation, such as supernovae and black holes.

This document presents the results of a survey of nondestructive testing (NDT) and related sensor technology research and development (R and D) at selected federal laboratories. Objective was to identify and characterize NDT activities that could be applied to improving energy efficiency and overall productivity in US manufacturing. Numerous federally supported R and D programs were identified in areas such as acoustic emissions, eddy current, radiography, computer tomography and ultrasonics. A Preliminary Findings Report was sent to industry representatives, which generated considerable interest.

Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) funded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to conduct a waste form testing program to implement aspects of the Secondary Liquid Waste Treatment Cast Stone Technology Development Plan (Ashley 2012) and the Hanford Site Secondary Waste Roadmap (PNNL 2009) related to the development and qualification of Cast Stone as a potential waste form for the solidification of aqueous wastes from the Hanford Site after the aqueous wastes are treated at the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). The current baseline is that the resultant Cast Stone (or grout) solid waste forms would be disposed at the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). Data and results of this testing program will be used in the upcoming performance assessment of the IDF and in the design and operation of a solidification treatment unit planned to be added to the ETF. The purpose of the work described in this report is to 1) develop simulants for the waste streams that are currently being fed and future WTP secondary waste streams also to be fed into the ETF and 2) prepare simulants to use for preparation of grout or Cast Stone solid waste forms for testing.

Capabilities NREL supports the development of marine and hydrokinetic technologies and hydropower R&D through the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Program. Our activities span a wide spectrum of disciplines, including fluid mechanics; dynamics, structures, and fatigue; power systems and electronics; resource assessment and mapping; economic analysis; and grid interconnection. Read more about NREL's water power R&D capabilities: Design Review and Analysis Device and Component

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC25, the second test campaign using a high moisture lignite coal from the Red Hills mine in Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC25 was conducted from July 4, 2008, through August 12, 2008. During TC25, the PSDF gasification process operated for 742 hours in air-blown gasification mode. Operation with the Mississippi lignite was significantly improved in TC25 compared to the previous test (TC22) with this fuel due to the addition of a fluid bed coal dryer. The new dryer was installed to dry coals with very high moisture contents for reliable coal feeding. The TC25 test campaign demonstrated steady operation with high carbon conversion and optimized performance of the coal handling and gasifier systems. Operation during TC25 provided the opportunity for further testing of instrumentation enhancements, hot gas filter materials, and advanced syngas cleanup technologies. The PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane with syngas from the Transport Gasifier.

Under the auspices of the {open_quotes}Government/Industry Wind Technology Applications Project{close_quotes} [{open_quotes}Letter of Interest{close_quotes} (LOI) Number RC-1-11101], Flo Wind Corp. has successfully developed, tested, and delivered a high-energy rotor upgrade candidate for their 19-meter Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. The project included the demonstration of the innovative extended height-to-diameter ratio concept, the development of a continuous span single-piece composite blade, the demonstration of a continuous blade manufacturing technique, the utilization of the Sandia National Laboratories developed SNLA 2150 natural laminar flow airfoil and the reuse of existing wind turbine and wind power plant infrastructure.

Pillars Capabilities: Science Pillars The Lab's four Science Pillars harness our scientific capabilities for national security solutions. What are the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Science Pillars? The Laboratory has established the Science Pillars under four main themes to bring together the Laboratory's diverse array of scientific capabilities and expertise: Information, Science, and Technology Pillar Materials for the Future Pillar Nuclear and Particle Futures Pillar Science of Signatures

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC24, the first test campaign using a bituminous coal as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC24 was conducted from February 16, 2008, through March 19, 2008. The PSDF gasification process operated for about 230 hours in air-blown gasification mode with about 225 tons of Utah bituminous coal feed. Operational challenges in gasifier operation were related to particle agglomeration, a large percentage of oversize coal particles, low overall gasifier solids collection efficiency, and refractory degradation in the gasifier solids collection unit. The carbon conversion and syngas heating values varied widely, with low values obtained during periods of low gasifier operating temperature. Despite the operating difficulties, several periods of steady state operation were achieved, which provided useful data for future testing. TC24 operation afforded the opportunity for testing of various types of technologies, including dry coal feeding with a developmental feeder, the Pressure Decoupled Advanced Coal (PDAC) feeder; evaluating a new hot gas filter element media configuration; and enhancing syngas cleanup with water-gas shift catalysts. During TC24, the PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane.

testing program was developed in fiscal year (FY) 2012 describing in some detail the work needed to develop and qualify Cast Stone as a waste form for the solidification of Hanford LAW (Westsik et al. 2012). Included within Westsik et al. (2012) is a section on the near-term needs to address Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-062-40ZZ. The objectives of the testing program to be conducted in FY 2013 and FY 2014 are to: âą Determine an acceptable formulation for the LAW Cast Stone waste form. âą Evaluate sources of dry materials for preparing the LAW Cast Stone. âą Demonstrate the robustness of the Cast Stone waste form for a range of LAW compositions. âą Demonstrate the robustness of the formulation for variability in the Cast Stone process. âą Provide Cast Stone contaminant release data for PA and risk assessment evaluations. The first step in determining an acceptable formulation for the LAW Cast Stone waste form is to conduct screening tests to examine expected ranges in pretreated LAW composition, waste stream concentrations, dry-materials sources, and mix ratios of waste feed to dry blend. A statistically designed test matrix will be used to evaluate the effects of these key parameters on the properties of the Cast Stone as it is initially prepared and after curing. The second phase of testing will focus on selection of a baseline Cast Stone formulation for LAW and demonstrating that Cast Stone can meet expected waste form requirements for disposal in the IDF. It is expected that this testing will use the results of the screening tests to define a smaller suite of tests to refine the composition of the baseline Cast Stone formulation (e.g. waste concentration, water to dry mix ratio, waste loading).

Efforts have been underway to develop fracture mechanics capabilities in the Grizzly code to enable it to be used to perform deterministic fracture assessments of degraded reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). Development in prior years has resulted a capability to calculate -integrals. For this application, these are used to calculate stress intensity factors for cracks to be used in deterministic linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) assessments of fracture in degraded RPVs. The -integral can only be used to evaluate stress intensity factors for axis-aligned flaws because it can only be used to obtain the stress intensity factor for pure Mode I loading. Off-axis flaws will be subjected to mixed-mode loading. For this reason, work has continued to expand the set of fracture mechanics capabilities to permit it to evaluate off-axis flaws. This report documents the following work to enhance Grizzlyâs engineering fracture mechanics capabilities for RPVs: âą Interaction Integral and -stress: To obtain mixed-mode stress intensity factors, a capability to evaluate interaction integrals for 2D or 3D flaws has been developed. A -stress evaluation capability has been developed to evaluate the constraint at crack tips in 2D or 3D. Initial verification testing of these capabilities is documented here. âą Benchmarking for axis-aligned flaws: Grizzlyâs capabilities to evaluate stress intensity factors for axis-aligned flaws have been benchmarked against calculations for the same conditions in FAVOR. âą Off-axis flaw demonstration: The newly-developed interaction integral capabilities are demon- strated in an application to calculate the mixed-mode stress intensity factors for off-axis flaws. âą Other code enhancements: Other enhancements to the thermomechanics capabilities that relate to the solution of the engineering RPV fracture problem are documented here.

This report documents the status of flexural strength evaluations from current ASTM procedures and of developing finite element models predicting the probability of failure. This work is covered under QLD REC-00030. Flexural testing procedures of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) assume a linear elastic material that has the same moduli for tension and compression. Contrary to this assumption, graphite is known to have different moduli for tension and compression. A finite element model was developed and demonstrated that accounts for the difference in moduli tension and compression. Brittle materials such as graphite exhibit significant scatter in tensile strength, so probabilistic design approaches must be used when designing components fabricated from brittle materials. ASTM procedures predicting probability of failure in ceramics were compared to methods from the current version of the ASME graphite core components rules predicting probability of failure. Using the ASTM procedures yields failure curves at lower applied forces than the ASME rules. A journal paper was published in the Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Design exploring the statistical models of fracture in graphite.

Glass can have lethal effects including fatalities and injuries when it breaks and then flies through the air under blast loading (''the glass problem''). One goal of this program was to assess the glass problem and solutions being pursued to mitigate it. One solution to the problem is the development of new glass technology that allows the strength and fragmentation to be controlled or selected depending on the blast performance specifications. For example the glass could be weak and fail, or it could be strong and survive, but it must perform reliably. Also, once it fails it should produce fragments of a controlled size. Under certain circumstances it may be beneficial to have very small fragments, in others it may be beneficial to have large fragments that stay together. The second goal of this program was to evaluate the performance (strength, reliability, and fragmentation) of Engineered Stress Profile (ESP) glass under different loading conditions. These included pseudo-static strength and pressure tests and free-field blast tests. The ultimate goal was to provide engineers and architects with a glass whose behavior under blast loading is less lethal. A near-term benefit is a new approach for improving the reliability of glass and modifying its fracture behavior.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC22, the first test campaign using a high moisture lignite from Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC22 was conducted from March 24 to April 17, 2007. The gasification process was operated for 543 hours, increasing the total gasification operation at the PSDF to over 10,000 hours. The PSDF gasification process was operated in air-blown mode with a total of about 1,080 tons of coal. Coal feeder operation was challenging due to the high as-received moisture content of the lignite, but adjustments to the feeder operating parameters reduced the frequency of coal feeder trips. Gasifier operation was stable, and carbon conversions as high as 98.9 percent were demonstrated. Operation of the PCD and other support equipment such as the recycle gas compressor and ash removal systems operated reliably.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) uses capability reviews to assess the science, technology and engineering (STE) quality and institutional integration and to advise Laboratory Management on the current and future health of the STE. Capability reviews address the STE integration that LANL uses to meet mission requirements. The Capability Review Committees serve a dual role of providing assessment of the Laboratory's technical contributions and integration towards its missions and providing advice to Laboratory Management. The assessments and advice are documented in reports prepared by the Capability Review Committees that are delivered to the Director and to the Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering (PADSTE). Laboratory Management will use this report for STE assessment and planning. LANL has defined fifteen STE capabilities. Electrodynamics and Accelerators is one of the seven STE capabilities that LANL Management (Director, PADSTE, technical Associate Directors) has identified for review in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. Accelerators and electrodynamics at LANL comprise a blend of large-scale facilities and innovative small-scale research with a growing focus on national security applications. This review is organized into five topical areas: (1) Free Electron Lasers; (2) Linear Accelerator Science and Technology; (3) Advanced Electromagnetics; (4) Next Generation Accelerator Concepts; and (5) National Security Accelerator Applications. The focus is on innovative technology with an emphasis on applications relevant to Laboratory mission. The role of Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) in support of accelerators/electrodynamics will be discussed. The review provides an opportunity for interaction with early career staff. Program sponsors and customers will provide their input on the value of the accelerator and electrodynamics capability to the Laboratory mission.

Department of Energy (DOE) Orders require each DOE site to develop onsite transportation safety documents (OTSDs). The Nevada Test Site approach divided all onsite transfers into two groups with each group covered by a standalone OTSD identified as Non-Nuclear and Nuclear. The Non-Nuclear transfers involve all radioactive hazardous material in less than Hazard Category (HC)-3 quantities and all chemically hazardous materials. The Nuclear transfers involve all radioactive material equal to or greater than HC-3 quantities and radioactive material mated with high explosives regardless of quantity. Both OTSDs comply with DOE O 460.1B requirements. The Nuclear OTSD also complies with DOE O 461.1A requirements and includes a DOE-STD-3009 approach to hazard analysis (HA) and accident analysis as needed. All Nuclear OTSD proposed transfers were determined to be non-equivalent and a methodology was developed to determine if equivalent safety to a fully compliant Department of Transportation (DOT) transfer was achieved. For each HA scenario, three hypothetical transfers were evaluated: a DOT-compliant, uncontrolled, and controlled transfer. Equivalent safety is demonstrated when the risk level for each controlled transfer is equal to or less than the corresponding DOT-compliant transfer risk level. In this comparison the typical DOE-STD-3009 risk matrix was modified to reflect transportation requirements. Design basis conditions (DBCs) were developed for each non-equivalent transfer. Initial DBCs were based solely upon the amount of material present. Route-, transfer-, and site-specific conditions were evaluated and the initial DBCs revised as needed. Final DBCs were evaluated for each transfers packaging and its contents.

The Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), headquartered at the Oregon State University, is establishing the capabilities to test prototype wave energy conversion devices in the ocean. This CRADA will leverage the technical expertise and resources at NREL in the wind industry and in ocean engineering to support and enhance the development of the NNMREC Mobile Ocean Test Berth (MOTB). This CRADA will provide direct support to NNMREC by providing design evaluation and review of the MOTB, developing effective protocols for testing of the MOTB and wave energy conversion devices in the ocean, assisting in the specification of appropriate instrumentation and data acquisition packages, and providing guidance on obtaining and maintaining A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) accreditation.

This document provides a strategy for performing radioactive (hot) and nonradioactive testing to support processing tank waste. It evaluates the need for hot pilot plant(s) to support pretreatment and other processing functions and presents a strategy for performing hot test work. A strategy also is provided for nonradioactive process and equipment testing. The testing strategy supports design, construction, startup, and operation of Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) facilities.

This document provides a strategy for performing radioactive (hot) and nonradioactive testing to support processing tank waste. It evaluates the need for hot pilot plant(s) to support pretreatment and other processing functions and presents a strategy for performing hot test work. A strategy also is provided for nonradioactive process and equipment testing. The testing strategy supports design, construction, startup, and operation of Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) facilities.

Radioxenon detectors are used for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in a network of detectors throughout the world called the International Monitoring System (IMS). The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) has tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with testing a V.G. Khlopin Radium Institute (KRI) and Lares Ltd-developed Silicon PIN detector for radioxenon detection. PNNL measured radioxenon with the silicon PIN detector and determined its potential compared to current plastic scintillator beta cells. While the PNNL tested Si detector experienced noise issues, a second detector was tested in Russia at Lares Ltd, which did not exhibit the noise issues. Without the noise issues, the Si detector produces much better energy resolution and isomer peak separation than a conventional plastic scintillator cell used in the SAUNA systems in the IMS. Under the assumption of 1 cm3 of Xe in laboratory-like conditions, 24-hr count time (12-hr count time for the SAUNA), with the respective shielding the minimum detectable concentrations for the Si detector tested by Lares Ltd (and a conventional SAUNA system) were calculated to be: 131mXe â 0.12 mBq/m3 (0.12 mBq/m3); 133Xe â 0.18 mBq/m3 (0.21 mBq/m3); 133mXe â 0.07 mBq/m3 (0.15 mBq/m3); 135Xe â 0.45 mBq/m3 (0.67 mBq/m3). Detection limits, which are one of the important factors in choosing the best detection technique for radioxenon in field conditions, are significantly better than for SAUNA-like detection systems for 131mXe and 133mXe, but similar for 133Xe and 135Xe. Another important factor is the amount of âmemory effectâ or carry over signal from one radioxenon measurement to the subsequent sample. The memory effect is

Department of Energy Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) ASCEM is being developed to provide a tool and approach to facilitate robust and standardized development of performance and risk assessments for cleanup and closure activities throughout the EM complex. The ASCEM team is composed of scientists from eight National

In June 1998, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC), with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), began a program to assess environmental sampling and analysis capabilities at laboratories in Argentina and Brazil. The program began with staff training conducted in South America and the United States by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Both laboratories are participating members of DOEâs Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) that support IAEAâs environmental sampling program. During the initial planning meeting, representatives from ABACC and all the participating analytical laboratories supporting ABACC were briefed on how the first exercise would be managed and on key aspects necessary to analyze low-level environmental samples for uranium. Subsequent to this training, a laboratory evaluation exercise (Exercise 1) was conducted using standard swipe samples prepared for this exercise by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The results of Exercise 1 determined that sample contamination was a major factor in the analysis, and a thorough review of laboratory procedures was required to reduce the level of contamination to acceptable levels. Following modification of sample preparation procedures, the laboratories performed Exercise 2, an analysis of a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1547, Peach Leaves. The results of Exercise 2 demonstrated that several laboratories were capable of accurately determining the total uranium and uranium isotopic distribution in the peach leaves. To build on these successes, Exercise 3 was performed using a series of standard swipe samples prepared by the IAEA and distributed to laboratories supporting ABACC and to PNNL and ORNL. The results of Exercise 3 demonstrate that ABACC now has support laboratories in both Argentina and Brazil, which are capable

The objective of the hot-gas cleanup (HGC) work on the transport reactor demonstration unit (TRDU) located at the Environmental Research Center is to demonstrate acceptable performance of hot-gas filter elements in a pilot-scale system prior to long-term demonstration tests. The primary focus of the experimental effort in the 2-year project will be the testing of hot- gas filter elements as a function of particulate collection efficiency, filter pressure differential, filter cleanability, and durability during relatively short-term operation (100-200 hours). A filter vessel will be used in combination with the TRDU to evaluate the performance of selected hot- gas filter elements under gasification operating conditions. This work will directly support the Power Systems Development Facility utilizing the M.W. Kellogg transport reactor located at Wilsonville, Alabama and indirectly the Foster Wheeler advanced pressurized fluid-bed combustor, also located at Wilsonville and the Clean Coal IV Pinon Pine IGCC Power Project. This program has a phased approach involving modification and upgrades to the TRDU and the fabrication, assembly, and operation of a hot-gas filter vessel (HGFV) capable of operating at the outlet design conditions of the TRDU. Phase 1 upgraded the TRDU based upon past operating experiences. Additions included a nitrogen supply system upgrade, upgraded LASH auger and 1807 coal feed lines, the addition of a second pressurized coal feed hopper and a dipleg ash hopper, and modifications to spoil the performance of the primary cyclone. Phase 2 included the HGFV design, procurement, and installation. Phases 3 through 5 consist of 200-hour hot-gas filter tests under gasification conditions using the TRDU at temperatures of 540-650{degrees}C (1000-1200{degrees}F), 9.3 bar, and face velocities of 1.4, 2. and 3.8 cm/s, respectively. The increased face velocities are achieved by removing candles between each test.

Final Technical Report: Electromagnetic Pump Insulation Materials Development and Testing (Report # DOEGEHB00613) summarizes the information gathered from the analysis of the 160 m3/min EM Pump insulation that was tested in 2000-2002 and additional evaluations of new resilient, engineered insulation system evaluated and tested at both GRC and ANL. This report provides information on Tasks 1 and 2 of the entire project. This report also provides information in three broad areas: Historical and current data; Conclusions based on test data; and Insulation specifications for use in EM Pumps. The research for Task 2 builds upon Task 1: Update EM Pump Databank, which is summarized within this report. Where research for Task 3 and 4 Next-Generation EM Pump Analysis Tools identified parameters or analysis model that benefits Task 2 research, those items are noted within this report. The important design variables for the manufacture and operation of an EM Pump that the insulation research can evaluate are: space constraints; voltage capability of insulation system; maximum flux density through iron; flow rate and outlet pressure; efficiency and manufacturability. The development summary of the Electromagnetic Pump Insulation Materials Development and Testing was completed to include: Historical and current data; Conclusions based on test data; and Insulation specifications for use in EM Pumps.

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is required to deliver a high quality electron beam for producing coherent X-rays. As a result, high resolution beam position monitoring is required. The Beam Position Monitor (BPM) digitizer acquires analog signals from the beam line and digitizes them to obtain beam position data. Although Matlab is currently being used to test the BPM digitizer?s functions and capability, the Controls Department at SLAC prefers to use Experimental Physics and Industrial Control Systems (EPICS). This paper discusses the transition of providing similar as well as enhanced functionalities, than those offered by Matlab, to test the digitizer. Altogether, the improved test stand development system can perform mathematical and statistical calculations with the waveform signals acquired from the digitizer and compute the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the signals. Finally, logging of meaningful data into files has been added.

Department of Energy Concept Testing and Development at the Raft River Geothermal Field, Idaho Concept Testing and Development at the Raft River Geothermal Field, Idaho Concept Testing and Development at the Raft River Geothermal Field, Idaho presentation at the April 2013 peer review meeting held in Denver, Colorado. raft_river_peer2013.pdf (3.68 MB) More Documents & Publications Concept Testing and Development at the Raft River Geothermal Field, Idaho track 4: enhanced geothermal

With the Nation's coal-burning utilities facing the possibility of tighter controls on mercury pollutants, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding projects that could offer power plant operators better ways to reduce these emissions at much lower costs. Mercury is known to have toxic effects on the nervous system of humans and wildlife. Although it exists only in trace amounts in coal, mercury is released when coal burns and can accumulate on land and in water. In water, bacteria transform the metal into methylmercury, the most hazardous form of the metal. Methylmercury can collect in fish and marine mammals in concentrations hundreds of thousands times higher than the levels in surrounding waters. One of the goals of DOE is to develop technologies by 2005 that will be capable of cutting mercury emissions 50 to 70 percent at well under one-half of today's costs. ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) is managing a project to test mercury control technologies at full scale at four different power plants from 2000--2003. The ADA-ES project is focused on those power plants that are not equipped with wet flue gas desulfurization systems. ADA-ES has developed a portable system that will be tested at four different utility power plants. Each of the plants is equipped with either electrostatic precipitators or fabric filters to remove solid particles from the plant's flue gas. ADA-ES's technology will inject a dry sorbent, such as activated carbon, which removes the mercury and makes it more susceptible to capture by the particulate control devices. A fine water mist may be sprayed into the flue gas to cool its temperature to the range where the dry sorbent is most effective. PG&E National Energy Group is providing two test sites that fire bituminous coals and both are equipped with electrostatic precipitators and carbon/ash separation systems. Wisconsin Electric Power Company is providing a third test site that burns Powder River Basin (PRB) coal and has an electrostatic

Low current measurements in atmospheric ion detection using a Gerdien condenser are subjected to numerous sources of error. Zeroing and testing units described in this article, connected as modules to this type of detector, enable some of these errors to be found and eliminated. The zeroing unit provides digital compensation of the zero drift with a digital sample and hold circuit of 12-bit resolution. It overcomes difficulties related to zero drift and techniques used in the zero conductivity determination when the accelerating potential or airflow rate are zero. The testing unit is a current reference of nominally 10{sup -12} A intended for testing and correcting the system on current leakage and other measuring deviations due to changes in atmospheric parameters. This unit is an independent battery-powered module, which provides a charge of 10{sup -12} C per cycle (frequency of order 1 Hz) to the collecting electrode. The control of Gerdien devices is substantially simplified using the zeroing and testing units realized here. Both units are used during 'zero conductivity' regime only.

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a process for the post-combustion removal of NO{sub x} from the flue gas of fossil-fuel-fired power plants. SCR is capable of NO{sub x} reduction efficiencies of up to 80 or 90 percent. SCR technology has been applied for treatment of flue gases from a variety of emission sources, including natural gas- and oil-fired gas turbines, process steam boilers in refineries, and coal-fired power plants. SCR applications to coal-fired power plants have occurred in Japan and Germany. Full-scale SCR systems have not been applied to coal-fired power plants in the U.S., although there have been small-scale demonstration projects. SCR has become increasingly widely applied in the U.S. to natural-gas fired gas turbine combined cycle systems. In the remainder of this section, we review the applicability of SCR, as well as the need for post-combustion NO{sub x} control, for several power generation systems.

Purpose: Credentialing can have an impact on whether or not a clinical trial produces useful quality data that is comparable between various institutions and scanners. With the recent increase of dynamic contrast enhanced-computed tomography (DCE-CT) usage as a companion biomarker in clinical trials, effective quality assurance, and control methods are required to ensure there is minimal deviation in the results between different scanners and protocols at various institutions. This paper attempts to address this problem by utilizing a dynamic flow imaging phantom to develop and evaluate a DCE-CT quality assurance (QA) protocol.Methods: A previously designed flow phantom, capable of producing predictable and reproducible time concentration curves from contrast injection was fully validated and then utilized to design a DCE-CT QA protocol. The QA protocol involved a set of quantitative metrics including injected and total mass error, as well as goodness of fit comparison to the known truth concentration curves. An additional region of interest (ROI) sensitivity analysis was also developed to provide additional details on intrascanner variability and determine appropriate ROI sizes for quantitative analysis. Both the QA protocol and ROI sensitivity analysis were utilized to test variations in DCE-CT results using different imaging parameters (tube voltage and current) as well as alternate reconstruction methods and imaging techniques. The developed QA protocol and ROI sensitivity analysis was then applied at three institutions that were part of clinical trial involving DCE-CT and results were compared.Results: The inherent specificity of robustness of the phantom was determined through calculation of the total intraday variability and determined to be less than 2.2 ± 1.1% (total calculated output contrast mass error) with a goodness of fit (R{sup 2}) of greater than 0.99 ± 0.0035 (n= 10). The DCE-CT QA protocol was capable of detecting significant deviations from the

Other Facilities and Capabilities High Voltage Breakdown Testing We can perform high voltage standoff testing with DC and pulsed voltages. DC testing can be conducted up to 200 kV. Pulsed voltage from 140 - 400 kV can be attained, with a typical lightning waveform - unipolar, 1.2 microsecond risetime and 50 microsecond pulse width. Testing is conducted in humidity-controlled chambers. Breakdown voltage and current can be measured. Small TEM Cell We have a small transverse electromagnetic (TEM)

Today`s society depends upon many structures (such as aircraft, bridges, wind turbines, offshore platforms, buildings, and nuclear weapons) which are nearing the end of their design lifetime. Since these structures cannot be economically replaced, techniques for structural health monitoring must be developed and implemented. Modal and structural dynamics measurements hold promise for the global non-destructive inspection of a variety of structures since surface measurements of a vibrating structure can provide information about the health of the internal members without costly (or impossible) dismantling of the structure. In order to develop structural health monitoring for application to operational structures, developments in four areas have been undertaken within this project: operational evaluation, diagnostic measurements, information condensation, and damage identification. The developments in each of these four aspects of structural health monitoring have been exercised on a broad range of experimental data. This experimental data has been extracted from structures from several application areas which include aging aircraft, wind energy, aging bridges, offshore structures, structural supports, and mechanical parts. As a result of these advances, Sandia National Laboratories is in a position to perform further advanced development, operational implementation, and technical consulting for a broad class of the nation`s aging infrastructure problems.

Electric distribution systems are experiencing power quality issues of extended reduced voltage due to fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR). FIDVR occurs in part because modern air conditioner (A/C) and heat pump compressor motors are much more susceptible to stalling during a voltage sag or dip such as a sub-transmission fault. They are more susceptible than older A/C compressor motors due to the low inertia of these newer and more energy efficient motors. There is a concern that these local reduced voltage events on the distribution system will become more frequent and prevalent and will combine over larger areas and challenge transmission system voltage and ultimately power grid reliability. The Distributed Energy Communications and Controls (DECC) Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been employed to (1) test, (2) characterize and (3) model the A/C stall phenomenon.

for Environmental Management (ASCEM) ASCEM is being developed to provide a tool and approach to facilitate robust and standardized development of perfor- mance and risk assessments for cleanup and closure activi- ties throughout the EM complex. The ASCEM team is composed of scientists from eight National Laboratories. This team is leveraging Department of Energy (DOE) investments in basic science and applied research including high performance computing codes developed through the Advanced

This CRADA was a purely funds-in CRADA with Modular Wind Energy (MWE). MWE had a need to perform full-scale testing of a 45-m wind turbine blade. NREL/NWTC provided the capabilities, facilities, and equipment to test this large-scale MWE wind turbine blade. Full-scale testing is required to demonstrate the ability of the wind turbine blade to withstand static design load cases and demonstrate the fatigue durability. Structural testing is also necessary to meet international blade testing certification requirements. Through this CRADA, MWE would obtain test results necessary for product development and certification, and NREL would benefit by working with an industrial partner to better understand the unique test requirements for wind turbine blades with advanced structural designs.

General-Purpose Heat Source radioisotope thermoelectric generators (GPHS-RTGs) will provide electric power for the NASA Galileo and European Space Agency Ulysses missions. Each GPHS-RTG comprises two major components: GPHS modules, which provide thermal energy, and a thermoelectric converter, which converts the thermal energy into electric power. Each of the 18 GPHS modules in a GPHS-RTG contains four /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/-fueled capsules. LANL conducted a series of safety verification tests on the GPHS-RTG before the scheduled May 1986 launch of the Galileo spacecraft to assess the ability of the GPHS modules to contain the plutonia in potential accident environments. As a result of the Challenger 51-L accident in January 1986, NASA postponed the launch of Galileo; the launch vehicle was reconfigured and the spacecraft trajectory was modified. These actions prompted NASA to reevaluate potential mission accidents, and an extended series safety test program was initiated. The program included a series of large fragment tests that simulated the collision of solid rocket booster (SRB) fragments, generated in an SRB motor case rupture or resulting from a range safety officer SRB destruct action, with the GPHS-RTG. The tests indicated that fueled clads, inside a converter, will not breach or release fuel after a square (142 cm on a side) SRB fragment impacts flat-on at velocities up to 212 m/s, and that only the leading fueled capsules breach and release fuel after the square SRB fragment impacts the modules, inside the converter, edge-on at 95 m/s. 8 refs., 32 figs., 7 tabs.

The vision of the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program is to bring truly predictive modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities to the nuclear engineering community in order to enable a new approach to the design and analysis of nuclear energy systems. From its inception, the NEAMS program has always envisioned a broad user base for its software and scientific products, including researchers within the DOE complex, nuclear industry technology developers and vendors, and operators. However activities to date have focused almost exclusively on interactions with NEAMS sponsors, who are also near-term users of NEAMS technologies. The task of the NEAMS Capability Transfer (CT) program element for FY2011 is to develop a comprehensive plan to support the program's needs for user outreach and technology transfer. In order to obtain community input to this plan, a 'NEAMS Capability Transfer Roadmapping Workshop' was held 4-5 April 2011 in Chattanooga, TN, and is summarized in this report. The 30 workshop participants represented the NEAMS program, the DOE and industrial user communities, and several outside programs. The workshop included a series of presentations providing an overview of the NEAMS program and presentations on the user outreach and technology transfer experiences of (1) The Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program, (2) The Standardized Computer Analysis for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) project, and (3) The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), followed by discussion sessions. Based on the workshop and other discussions throughout the year, we make a number of recommendations of key areas for the NEAMS program to develop the user outreach and technology transfer activities: (1) Engage not only DOE, but also industrial users sooner and more often; (2) Engage with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to facilitate their understanding and acceptance of NEAMS approach to predictive M&S; (3) Place

Developing a Natural Gas- Powered Bus Rapid Transit Service: A Case Study George Mitchell National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technical Report NREL/TP-5400-64756 November 2015 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (the Site) has approximately 10,000 High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters installed in a variety of filter plenums. These ventilation/filtration plenum systems are used to control the release of airborne particulate contaminates to the environment during normal operations and also during potential design-based accidents. The operational integrity of the HEPA filter plenums is essential to maintaining the margins of safety as required by building specific Final Safety Analysis Reports (FSARS) for protection of the public and environment. An Unreviewed Safety Question Determination (USQD), USDQ-RFP94.0615-ARS, was conducted in 1994 addressing the potential inadequacy of the safety envelope for Protected Area building HEPA plenums. While conducting this USQD, questions were raised concerning the maximum service life criteria for HEPA filters. Accident scenarios in existing FSARs identify conditions that could potentially cause plugging or damage of down stream HEPA filters as a result of impaction from failed filters. Additionally, available data indicates that HEPA filters experience structural degradation due to the effects of age. The Unresolved Safety Question (USQ) compensatory measures thus require testing and analysis of used HEPA filters in order to determine and implement service life criteria.

The composite material research and development performed over the last year has greatly enhanced the capabilities of CTH for non-isotropic materials. The enhancements provide the users and developers with greatly enhanced capabilities to address non-isotropic materials and their constitutive model development. The enhancements to CTH are intended to address various composite material applications such as armor systems, rocket motor cases, etc. A new method for inserting non-isotropic materials was developed using Diatom capabilities. This new insertion method makes it possible to add a layering capability to a shock physics hydrocode. This allows users to explicitly model each lamina of a composite without the overhead of modeling each lamina as a separate material to represent a laminate composite. This capability is designed for computational speed and modeling efficiency when studying composite material applications. In addition, the layering capability also allows a user to model interlaminar mechanisms. Finally, non-isotropic coupling methods have been investigated. The coupling methods are specific to shock physics where the Equation of State (EOS) is used with a nonisotropic constitutive model. This capability elastically corrects the EOS pressure (typically isotropic) for deviatoric pressure coupling for non-isotropic materials.

An acoustic emission test for aircraft Halon bottles has been developed in response to a need expressed by the US Airline Industry. During this development many choices had to be made about test methods, procedures and analysis techniques. This paper discusses these choices and how successful they were. The test itself was designed to replace the currently required hydrostatic test for these bottles. The necessary load is applied by heating the sealed bottles. Acoustic emission is monitored, during the heating, by six sensors held in position by a special fixture. A prototype of the test apparatus was constructed and used in two commercial Halon bottle repair and test facilities. Results to date indicate that about 97% of the bottles tested show no indications of flaws. The other 3% have had indications of possible flaws in non-critical areas of the bottles. All bottles tested to date have passed the hydrostatic test subsequent to the acoustic emission test.

In light water reactors, particularly the pressurized water reactors, the severity of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) will limit how high the reactor power can extend. Although the best-estimate LOCA methodology can provide the greatest margin on the peak cladding temperature (PCT) evaluation during LOCA, it will take many more resources to develop and to get final approval from the licensing authority. Instead, implementation of evaluation models required by Appendix K of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 50 (10 CFR 50), upon an advanced thermal-hydraulic platform can also gain significant margin on the PCT calculation. A program to modify RELAP5-3D in accordance with Appendix K of 10 CFR 50 was launched by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taiwan, and it consists of six sequential phases of work. The compliance of the current RELAP5-3D with Appendix K of 10 CFR 50 has been evaluated, and it was found that there are 11 areas where the code modifications are required to satisfy the requirements set forth in Appendix K of 10 CFR 50. To verify and assess the development of the Appendix K version of RELAP5-3D, nine kinds of separate-effect experiments and six sets of integral-effect experiments will be adopted. Through the assessments program, all the model changes will be verified.

Wind power forecasting (WPF) provides important inputs to power system operators and electricity market participants. It is therefore not surprising that WPF has attracted increasing interest within the electric power industry. In this report, we document our research on improving statistical WPF algorithms for point, uncertainty, and ramp forecasting. Below, we provide a brief introduction to the research presented in the following chapters. For a detailed overview of the state-of-the-art in wind power forecasting, we refer to [1]. Our related work on the application of WPF in operational decisions is documented in [2]. Point forecasts of wind power are highly dependent on the training criteria used in the statistical algorithms that are used to convert weather forecasts and observational data to a power forecast. In Chapter 2, we explore the application of information theoretic learning (ITL) as opposed to the classical minimum square error (MSE) criterion for point forecasting. In contrast to the MSE criterion, ITL criteria do not assume a Gaussian distribution of the forecasting errors. We investigate to what extent ITL criteria yield better results. In addition, we analyze time-adaptive training algorithms and how they enable WPF algorithms to cope with non-stationary data and, thus, to adapt to new situations without requiring additional offline training of the model. We test the new point forecasting algorithms on two wind farms located in the U.S. Midwest. Although there have been advancements in deterministic WPF, a single-valued forecast cannot provide information on the dispersion of observations around the predicted value. We argue that it is essential to generate, together with (or as an alternative to) point forecasts, a representation of the wind power uncertainty. Wind power uncertainty representation can take the form of probabilistic forecasts (e.g., probability density function, quantiles), risk indices (e.g., prediction risk index) or scenarios

Analytic solutions to the radiation-hydrodynamic equations are useful for verifying any large-scale numerical simulation software that solves the same set of equations. The one-dimensional, spherically symmetric Coggeshall No.9 and No.11 analytic solutions, cell-averaged over a uniform-grid have been developed to analyze the corresponding solutions from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Eulerian Applications Project radiation-hydrodynamics code xRAGE. These Coggeshall solutions have been shown to be independent of heat conduction, providing a unique opportunity for comparison with xRAGE solutions with and without the heat conduction module. Solution convergence was analyzed based on radial step size. Since no shocks are involved in either problem and the solutions are smooth, second-order convergence was expected for both cases. The global L1 errors were used to estimate the convergence rates with and without the heat conduction module implemented.

The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Soil and Groundwater, is supporting development of the Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM). ASCEM is a state-of-the-art scientific tool and approach for understanding and predicting contaminant fate and transport in natural and engineered systems. The modular and open source high-performance computing tool facilitates integrated approaches to modeling and site characterization that enable robust and standardized assessments of performance and risk for EM cleanup and closure activities. The ASCEM project continues to make significant progress in development of computer software capabilities with an emphasis on integration of capabilities in FY12. Capabilitydevelopment is occurring for both the Platform and Integrated Toolsets and High-Performance Computing (HPC) Multiprocess Simulator. The Platform capabilities provide the user interface and tools for end-to-end model development, starting with definition of the conceptual model, management of data for model input, model calibration and uncertainty analysis, and processing of model output, including visualization. The HPC capabilities target increased functionality of process model representations, toolsets for interaction with Platform, and verification and model confidence testing. The Platform and HPC capabilities are being tested and evaluated for EM applications in a set of demonstrations as part of Site Applications Thrust Area activities. The Phase I demonstration focusing on individual capabilities of the initial toolsets was completed in 2010. The Phase II demonstration completed in 2012 focused on showcasing integrated ASCEM capabilities. For Phase II, the Hanford Site deep vadose zone (BC Cribs) served as an application site for an end-to-end demonstration of capabilities, with emphasis on integration and linkages between the Platform and HPC components. Other demonstrations

The Process Development Unit (PDU) was designed and constructed to demonstrate the novel Calderon gasification/hot gas cleanup process. in the process, run-of-mine high sulfur coal is first pyrolyzed to recover a rich gas (medium Btu gas), after which the resulting char is subjected to airblown gasification to yield a lean gas (low Btu gas). The process incorporates a proprietary integrated system for the conversion of coal to gases and for the hot cleanup of the gases which removes both particulate and sulfur components of the gaseous products. The yields are: a syngas (CO and H[sub 2] mix) suitable for further conversion to liquid fuel (e.g. methanol/gasoline), and a lean gas suitable to fuel the combustion turbine of a combined cycle power generation plant with very low levels of NO[sub x] (15 ppmv). The fused slag (from the gasified char ash content) and the sulfur recovered during the hot gas cleanup will be sold as by-products. The small quantity of spent sorbent generated will be combined with the coal feed as a fluxing agent for the slag. The small quantity of wastewater from slag drainings and steam generation blowdown will be mixed with the coal feed for disposal. The Calderon gasification/hot gas cleanup, which is a completely closed system, operates at a pressure suitable for combined cycle power generation.

The Process Development Unit (PDU) was designed and constructed to demonstrate the novel Calderon gasification/hot gas cleanup process. in the process, run-of-mine high sulfur coal is first pyrolyzed to recover a rich gas (medium Btu gas), after which the resulting char is subjected to airblown gasification to yield a lean gas (low Btu gas). The process incorporates a proprietary integrated system for the conversion of coal to gases and for the hot cleanup of the gases which removes both particulate and sulfur components of the gaseous products. The yields are: a syngas (CO and H{sub 2} mix) suitable for further conversion to liquid fuel (e.g. methanol/gasoline), and a lean gas suitable to fuel the combustion turbine of a combined cycle power generation plant with very low levels of NO{sub x} (15 ppmv). The fused slag (from the gasified char ash content) and the sulfur recovered during the hot gas cleanup will be sold as by-products. The small quantity of spent sorbent generated will be combined with the coal feed as a fluxing agent for the slag. The small quantity of wastewater from slag drainings and steam generation blowdown will be mixed with the coal feed for disposal. The Calderon gasification/hot gas cleanup, which is a completely closed system, operates at a pressure suitable for combined cycle power generation.

Many of the existing buildings at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant are steel frame construction with unreinforced hollow clay tile infill walls (HCTW). The HCTW infill provides some lateral seismic resistance to the design/evaluation basis earthquake; however acceptance criteria for this construction must be developed. The basis for the development of seismic criteria is the Oak Ridge HCTW testing and analysis program and the target performance goals of DOE 5480.28 and DOE-STD-1020-94. This report documents and independent review of the testing and analysis program and development of recommended acceptance criteria for Oak Ridge HCTW construction. The HCTW test program included ``macro`` wall in-plane and out-of-plane tests, full-scale wall in-plane and out-of-plane tests, in-situ out-of-plane test, shake table tests, and masonry component tests.

This paper addresses the moisture leak detection capability of Ontario Hydro CANDU reactors which has been demonstrated by performing tests on the reactor. The tests confirmed the response of the annulus gas system (AGS) to the presence of moisture injected to simulate a pressure tube leak and also confirmed the dew point response assumed in leak before break assessments. The tests were performed on Bruce A Unit 4 by injecting known and controlled rates of heavy water vapor. To avoid condensation during test conditions, the amount of moisture which could be injected was small (2-3.5 g/hr). The test response demonstrated that the AGS is capable of detecting and annunciating small leaks. Thus confidence is provided that it would alarm for a growing pressure tube leak where the leak rate is expected to increase to kg/hr rapidly. The measured dew point response was close to that predicted by analysis.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) oversees the efforts to ensure nuclear energy remains a viable option for the United States. A significant portion of these efforts are related to post-irradiation examinations (PIE) of highly activated fuel and materials that are subject to the extreme environment inside a nuclear reactor. As the lead national laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has a rich history, experience, workforce and capabilities for performing PIE. However, new advances in tools and techniques for performing PIE now enable understanding the performance of fuels and materials at the nano-scale and smaller level. Examination at this level is critical since this is the scale at which irradiation damage occurs. The INL is on course to adopt these advanced tools and techniques to develop a comprehensive nuclear fuels and materials characterization capability that is unique in the world. Because INL has extensive PIE capabilities currently in place, a strong foundation exist to build upon as new capabilities are implemented and work load increases. In the recent past, INL has adopted significant capability to perform advanced PIE characterization. Looking forward, INL is planning for the addition of two facilities that will be built to meet the stringent demands of advanced tools and techniques for highly activated fuels and materials characterization. Dubbed the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL) and Advanced Post Irradiation Examination Capability , these facilities are next generation PIE laboratories designed to perform the work of PIE that cannot be performed in current DOE facilities. In addition to physical capabilities, INL has recently added two significant contributors to the Advanced Test Reactor-National Scientific User Facility (ATR-NSUF), Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley.

In 2009, the National Academies of Science (NAS) reviewed and validated the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Technology Program in its publication, Advice on the Department of Energyâs Cleanup Technology Roadmap: Gaps and Bridges. The NAS report outlined prioritization needs for the Groundwater and Soil Remediation Roadmap, concluded that contaminant behavior in the subsurface is poorly understood, and recommended further research in this area as a high priority. To address this NAS concern, the EM Office of Site Restoration began supporting the development of the Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM). ASCEM is a state-of-the-art scientific approach that uses an integration of toolsets for understanding and predicting contaminant fate and transport in natural and engineered systems. The ASCEM modeling toolset is modular and open source. It is divided into three thrust areas: Multi-Process High Performance Computing (HPC), Platform and Integrated Toolsets, and Site Applications. The ASCEM toolsets will facilitate integrated approaches to modeling and site characterization that enable robust and standardized assessments of performance and risk for EM cleanup and closure activities. During fiscal year 2012, the ASCEM project continued to make significant progress in capabilitiesdevelopment. Capabilitydevelopment occurred in both the Platform and Integrated Toolsets and Multi-Process HPC Simulator areas. The new Platform and Integrated Toolsets capabilities provide the user an interface and the tools necessary for end-to-end model development that includes conceptual model definition, data management for model input, model calibration and uncertainty analysis, and model output processing including visualization. The new HPC Simulator capabilities target increased functionality of process model representations, toolsets for interaction with the Platform, and model confidence testing and verification for

With the development of on-line and real-time process simulations, one obtains the ability to predict and control the process; thus, the opportunity exists to improve energy efficiency, decrease materials wastes, and maintain product quality. Developing this capability was the objective of the this research program. A thermomechanical pulp mill was simulated using both a first principles model and a neural network. The models made use of actual process data and a model that calculated the mass and energy balance of the mill was successfully implemented and run at the mill on an hourly basis. The attempt to develop a model that accurately predicted the quality of the pulp was not successful. It was concluded that the key fro a successful implementation of a real-time control model, such as a neural net model, is availability of on-line sensors that sufficiently characterize the pulp.

3-1 3. Battery Development, Testing, Simulation, Analysis Introduction Battery systems research focuses on testing, evaluating, and developing energy storage technologies in close collaboration with developers and the automotive industry. This work is primarily accomplished through the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a partnership among the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors. Working with manufacturers and the DOE national

There are many deployed approaches for blocking unwanted traffic, either once it reaches the recipient's network, or closer to its point of origin. One of these schemes is based on the notion of traffic carrying capabilities that grant access to a network and/or end host. However, leveraging capabilities results in added complexity and additional steps in the communication process: Before communication starts a remote host must be vetted and given a capability to use in the subsequent communication. In this paper, we propose a lightweight mechanism that turns the answers provided by DNS name resolution---which Internet communication broadly depends on anyway---into capabilities. While not achieving an ideal capability system, we show the mechanism can be built from commodity technology and is therefore a pragmatic way to gain some of the key benefits of capabilities without requiring new infrastructure.

Reorganization bolsters nuclear nonproliferation capability Reorganization bolsters nuclear nonproliferation capability LANL has strengthened its capability in a key aspect of nuclear nonproliferation by combining two groups within its Global Security organization. June 27, 2012 Los Alamos National Laboratory sits on top of a once-remote mesa in northern New Mexico with the Jemez mountains as a backdrop to research and innovation covering multi-disciplines from bioscience, sustainable energy

The Component and Development and Integration Facility (CDIF) is a Department of Energy test facility operated by MSE, Inc. MSE personnel were responsible for the integration of topping cycle components for the national coal-fired magnetohydrodynamics development program. Initial facility checkout and baseline data generation testing at the CDIF used a 50-megawatt (MW{sub t}), oil-fired combustor (with ash injection to simulate coal slag carryover) coupled to the 1A{sub 1} supersonic channel. In the fall of 1984, a 50-MW{sub t}, pressurized, slag rejecting coal-fired combustor replaced the oil-fired combustor in the test train. In the spring of 1989, a coal-fired precombustor was added to the workhorse test hardware. In the spring of 1992, workhorse hardware was replaced with the prototypic coal-fired test train. Testing during the last year emphasized prototypic hardware testing targeted at longer duration testing, some intermediate checkout testing, and more reliable operation. These phases of testing and the associated facility modifications are discussed. Progress of the proof-of-concept testing, through the time of testing shutdown, is addressed.

The policy regarding the Federal Technical Capability Program, which provides for the recruitment, deployment, development, and retention of Federal personnel with the demonstrated technical capability to safely accomplish the Departments missions and responsibilities.

The single cell test system development for the SRNL sulfur dioxide-depolarized electrolyzer has been completed. Operating experience and improved operating procedures were developed during test operations in FY06 and the first quarter of FY07. Eight different cell configurations, using various MEA designs, have been tested. The single cell test electrolyzer has been modified to overcome difficulties experienced during testing, including modifications to the inlet connection to eliminate minute acid leaks that caused short circuits. The test facility was modified by adding a water bath for cell heating, thus permitting operation over a wider range of flowrates and cell temperatures. Modifications were also identified to permit continuous water flushing of the cathode to remove sulfur, thus extending operating time between required shutdowns. This is also expected to permit a means of independently measuring the rate of sulfur formation, and the corresponding SO{sub 2} flux through the membrane. This report contains a discussion of the design issues being addressed by the single cell test program, a test matrix being conducted to address these issues, and a summary of the performance objectives for the single cell test system. The current primary objective of single cell test system is to characterize and qualify electrolyzer configurations for the following 100-hour longevity tests. Although the single cell test system development is considered complete, SRNL will continue to utilize the test facility and the single cell electrolyzer to measure the operability and performance of various cell design configurations, including new MEA's produced by the component development tasks.

Physical protection systems have a widespread impact on the nuclear industry in areas such as nuclear safeguards, arms control, and trafficking of illicit goods (e.g., nuclear materials) across international borders around the world. Many challenges must be overcome in design and deployment of foreign border security systems such as lack of infrastructure, extreme environmental conditions, limited knowledge of terrain, insider threats, and occasional cultural resistance. Successful security systems, whether it be a system designed to secure a single facility or a whole border security system, rely on the entire integrated system composed of multiple subsystems. This test bed is composed of many unique sensors and subsystems, including wireless unattended ground sensors, a buried fiber-optic acoustic sensor, a lossy coaxial distributed sensor, wireless links, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, mobile power generation systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and fiber-optic-fence intrusion detection systems. A Common Operating Picture software architecture is utilized to integrate a number of these subsystems. We are currently performance testing each system for border security and perimeter security applications by examining metrics such as probability of sense and a qualitative understanding of the sensor s vulnerability of defeat. The testing process includes different soil conditions for buried sensors (e.g., dry, wet, and frozen) and an array of different tests including walking, running, stealth detection, and vehicle detection. Also, long term sustainability of systems is tested including performance differences due to seasonal variations (e.g. summer versus winter, while raining, in foggy conditions). The capabilities of the test bed are discussed. Performance testing results, both at the individual component level and integrated into a larger system for a specific deployment (in situ), help illustrate the usefulness and need for integrated testing facilities to carry out this

LANL invented technology for increasing growth and productivity of photosysnthetic organisms, including algae and higher plants. The technology has been extensively tested at the greenhouse and field scale for crop plants. Initial bioreactor testing of its efficacy on algal growth has shown promising results. It increases algal growth rates even under optimwn nutrient supply and careful pH control with CO{sub 2} continuously available. The technology uses a small organic molecule, applied to the plant surfaces or added to the algal growth medium. CO{sub 2} concentration is necessary to optimize algal production in either ponds or reactors. LANL has successfully designed, built and demonstrated an effective, efficient technology using DOE funding. Such a system would be very valuable for capitalizing on local inexpensive sources of CO{sub 2} for algal production operations. Furthermore, our protein engineering team has a concept to produce highly stable carbonic anhydyrase (CA) enzyme, which could be very useful to assure maximum utilization of the CO{sub 2} supply. Stable CA could be used either imnlobilized on solid supports or engineered into the algal strain. The current technologies for harvesting the algae and obtaining the lipids do not meet the needs for rapid, low cost separations for high volumes of material. LANL has obtained proof of concept for the high volume flowing stream concentration of algae, algal lysis and separation of the lipid, protein and water fractions, using acoustic platforms. This capability is targeted toward developing biosynthetics, chiral syntheses, high throughput protein expression and purification, organic chemistry, recognition ligands, and stable isotopes geared toward Bioenergy applications. Areas of expertise include stable isotope chemistry, biomaterials, polymers, biopolymers, organocatalysis, advanced characterization methods, and chemistry of model compounds. The ultimate realization of the ability to design and

This report summarizes the technical progress that has occurred in conjunction with Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC21-92MC28065, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Product DevelopmentTest (PDT) during the period of October 1, 1994 through September 30, 1995. Information is presented on stack design, manufacturing, stack assembly, procurement, site preparation, and test plan.

The overall objective of the on-going analytical efforts was to develop in-house expertise and analytical capability for the analysis of coal and coal-derived products in support of SRC-I process technology. The approach taken and work accomplished involved: identification of test methods and associated equipment; review and implementation of analytical facility plan; evaluation of existing instrumentation; evaluation and purchase of new instruments; training of laboratory personnel; validation or development of analytical methods; development of standard product work-up methods and development of analytical protocol for detailed characterization of SRC-I solid and liquid products. This volume contains Appendix B with the following attachments: solvent separation procedure A; Wilsonville solvent separation procedure, distillation separation procedure; solvent separation modified Wilsonville Procedure W; statistical comparison of 3 solvent separation procedures; methods development for column chromatography, and application of gas chromatography to characterization of a hydrogen donor solvent; and high performance liquid chromatographic procedure.

The US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for developing the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) to accept spent nuclear fuel from commercial facilities. The objective of the Facility Interface Capability Assessment (FICA) project was to assess the capability of each commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage facility, at which SNF is stored, to handle various SNF shipping casks. The purpose of this report is to present and analyze the results of the facility assessments completed within the FICA project. During Phase 1, the data items required to complete the facility assessments were identified and the database for the project was created. During Phase 2, visits were made to 122 facilities on 76 sites to collect data and information, the database was updated, and assessments of the cask-handling capabilities at each facility were performed. Each assessment of cask-handling capability contains three parts: the current capability of the facility (planning base); the potential enhanced capability if revisions were made to the facility licensing and/or administrative controls; and the potential enhanced capability if limited physical modifications were made to the facility. The main conclusion derived from the planning base assessments is that the current facility capabilities will not allow handling of any of the FICA Casks at 49 of the 122 facilities evaluated. However, consideration of potential revisions and/or modifications showed that all but one of the 49 facilities could be adapted to handle at least one of the FICA Casks. For this to be possible, facility licensing, administrative controls, and/or physical aspects of the facility would need to be modified.

A fuel test assembly for use in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) has been developed that provides re-irradiation capability after interim discharge and reconstitution of the test pin bundle. This test vehicle permits irradiation test data to be obtained at multiple exposures on a few select test pins without the substantial expense of fabricating individual test assemblies as would otherwise be required. A variety of different test pin types can be loaded in the reusable test assembly.

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for developing the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) to accept spent nuclear fuel from the commercial facilities. In support of the development of the CRWMS, OCRWM sponsored the Facility Interface Capability Assessment (FICA) project. The objective of this project was to assess the capability of each commercial facility to handle various spent nuclear fuel shipping casks. The purpose of this report is to summarize the results of the facility assessments completed within the FICA project. The project was conducted in two phases. During Phase I, the data items required to complete the facility assessments were identified and the data base for the project was created. During Phase II, visits were made to 122 facilities on 76 sites to collect data and information, the data base was updated, and assessments of the cask-handling capabilities at each facility were performed.

The ocean-energy industry is still in its infancy and device developers have provided their own equipment and procedures for testing. Currently, no testing standards exist for ocean energy devices in the United States. Furthermore, as prototype devices move from the test tank to in-water testing, the logistical challenges and costs grow exponentially. Development of a common instrumentation package that can be moved from device to device is one means of reducing testing costs and providing normalized data to the industry as a whole. As a first step, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has initiated an effort to develop an instrumentation package to provide a tool to allow common measurements across various ocean energy devices. The effort is summarized in this paper. First, we present the current status of ocean energy devices. We then review the experiences of the wind industry in its development of the instrumentation package and discuss how they can be applied in the ocean environment. Next, the challenges that will be addressed in the development of the ocean instrumentation package are discussed. For example, the instrument package must be highly adaptable to fit a large array of devices but still conduct common measurements. Finally, some possible system configurations are outlined followed by input from the industry regarding its measurement needs, lessons learned from prior testing, and other ideas.

This report describes a FY14 effort to develop an integrated Sandia Cooler T hermoelectric D evice (SCTD) . The project included a review of feasible thermoelectric (TE) cooling applications, baseline performance testing of an existing TE device, analysis and design development of an integrated SCTD assembly, and performance measurement and validation of the integrated SCTD prototype.

Vibration integrity of high burn-up spent nuclear fuel in transportation remains to be a critical component of US nuclear waste management system. The structural evaluation of package for spent fuel transportation eventually will need to see if the content or spent fuel is in a subcritical condition. However, a system for testing and characterizing such spent fuel is still lacking mainly due to the complication involved with dealing radioactive specimens in a hot cell environment. Apparently, the current state-of-the-art in spent fuel research and development is quite far away from the delivery of reliable mechanical property data for the assessment of spent fuels in the transport package evaluation. Under the sponsorship of US NRC, ORNL has taken the challenge in developing a robust testing system for spent fuel in hot cell. An extensive literature survey was carried out and unique requirements of such testing system were identified. The U-frame setup has come to the top among various designs examined for reverse bending fatigue test of spent fuel rod. The U-frame has many features that deserve mentioned here: Easy to install spent fuel rod in test; Less linkages than in conventional bending test setup such as three-point or four-point bending; Target the failure mode relevant to the fracture of spent fuel rod in transportation by focusing on pure bending; The continuous calibrations and modifications resulted in the third generation (3G) U-frame testing setup. Rigid arms are split along the LBB axis at rod sample ends. For each arm, this results in a large arm body and an end piece. Mating halves of bushings were modified into two V-shaped surfaces on which linear roller bearings (LRB) are embedded. The rod specimen is installed into the test fixture through opening and closing slide end-pieces. The 3G apparently has addressed major issues of setup identified in the previous stage and been proven to be eligible to be further pursued in this project. On the other

This paper discusses how candidate fuel plates for RERTR Fuel Development experiments are examined and tested for acceptance prior to reactor insertion. These tests include destructive and nondestructive examinations (DE and NDE). The DE includes blister annealing for dispersion fuel plates, bend testing of adjacent cladding, and microscopic examination of archive fuel plates. The NDE includes Ultrasonic (UT) scanning and radiography. UT tests include an ultrasonic scan for areas of âdebondsâ and a high frequency ultrasonic scan to determine the "minimum cladding" over the fuel. Radiography inspections include identifying fuel outside of the maximum fuel zone and measurements and calculations for fuel density. Details of each test are provided and acceptance criteria are defined. These tests help to provide a high level of confidence the fuel plate will perform in the reactor without a breach in the cladding.

Capabilities Science Education Programs Capabilities The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) connects the best and most diverse students and faculty members to programs closely aligned with the interests of a variety of research facilities, including those managed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and more than a dozen other federal agencies. Current ORISE science education program opportunities include: Undergraduate scholarships Graduate fellowships Postgraduate

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been tasked to develop a Pilot-scale Plutonium-oxide Processing Unit (P3U) providing a flexible capability to produce 200g (Pu basis) samples of plutonium oxide using different chemical processes for use in identifying and validating nuclear forensics signatures associated with plutonium production. Materials produced can also be used as exercise and reference materials.

WASHINGTON, D.C. â Since 2010, EMâs Office of Soil and Groundwater Remediation has initiated technology development programs such as the Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) and the Applied Field Research Initiatives to enhance characterization and remediation technologies and create cost savings.

National Laboratory Facilities and Capabilities National Laboratory Facilities and Capabilities National Laboratory Facilities and Capabilities With unique instrumentation and equipment, state-of-the-art facilities, as well as on-site experts, the national laboratories offer a myriad of facilities and capabilities to advance your business and technology development. logo-argonne.png ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY Lemont, IL Advanced Photon Source User Facility-Allows better understanding of

This final report summarizes work accomplished in the Program from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2004. Most of the key technical objectives for this program were achieved. A breakthrough material system has lead to the development of an OTM (oxygen transport membrane) compact planar reactor design capable of producing either syngas or hydrogen. The planar reactor shows significant advantages in thermal efficiency and a step change reduction in costs compared to either autothermal reforming or steam methane reforming with CO{sub 2} recovery. Syngas derived ultra-clean transportation fuels were tested in the Nuvera fuel cell modular pressurized reactor and in International Truck and Engine single cylinder test engines. The studies compared emission and engine performance of conventional base fuels to various formulations of ultra-clean gasoline or diesel fuels. A proprietary BP oxygenate showed significant advantage in both applications for reducing emissions with minimal impact on performance. In addition, a study to evaluate new fuel formulations for an HCCI engine was completed.

The Component Development and Integration Facility (CDIF) is a Department of Energy test facility operated by MSE, Inc. MSE personnel are responsible for integrated testing of topping cycle components for the national coal-fired magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) development program. Initial facility checkout and baseline data generation testing at the CDIF used a 50-MW{sub t}, oil-fired combustor (with ash injection to simulate coal slag carryover) coupled to the 1A{sub 1} supersonic workhorse channel. In the fall of 1984, a 50-MW{sub t}, pressurized, slag rejecting coal-fired workhorse combustor replaced the oil-fired combustor in the test train. In the spring of 1989, a coal-fired precombustor was added to the test hardware, and current controls were installed in the spring of 1990. In the fall of 1990, the slag rejector was installed. In the spring of 1992, a 50-MW{sub t} pressurized, slag rejecting coal-fired prototypical combustor replaced the workhorse combustor in the test train. A 1A{sub 4} supersonic prototypical channel replaced the 1A{sub 1} workhorse channel in the fall of 1993. This prototypical hardware is slated to be used for the proof-of-concept (POC) testing. Improved facility systems targeting longer duration testing and more reliable operation will be discussed, including the air emissions control and monitoring hardware, oxygen and nitrogen expansion, coal and seed system upgrades, A-Bay modifications, and new solid suspension injection equipment.

The last two decades have seen an explosion in worldwide R&D, enabling fundamentally new capabilities while at the same time changing the international technology landscape. The advent of technologies for continued miniaturization and electronics feature size reduction, and for architectural innovations, will have many technical, economic, and national security implications. It is important to anticipate possible microelectronics development directions and their implications on US national interests. This report forecasts and assesses trends and directions for several potentially disruptive microfabrication capabilities and device architectures that may emerge in the next 5-10 years.

In collaborating scientific research arena it is important to have an environment where analysts have access to a shared of information documents, software tools and be able to accurately maintain and track historical changes in models. A new cloud-based environment would be accessible remotely from anywhere regardless of computing platforms given that the platform has available of Internet access and proper browser capabilities. Information stored at this environment would be restricted based on user assigned credentials. This report reviews development of a Cloud-based Architecture Capabilities (CAC) as a web portal for PRA tools.

There is an ongoing effort to develop retrofit technologies capable of converting oil- and/or gas-fired boilers to coal combustion. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of an improved portion of a previously developed retrofit system designed for the purpose of converting oil/gas boilers. This improvement would almost entirely eliminate the use of premium fuels, thereby significantly increasing the economical attractiveness of the system. Specifically, the goals in this program were to replace natural gas as a reburning fuel with coal-water fuel (CWF). The advantages of such a system include: (1) increased return on investment (ROI) for conversions; (2) nearly complete elimination of premium oil or gas fuel; (3) a more integrated approach to the conversion of oil- or gas-designed boilers to CWF.

There is an ongoing effort to develop retrofit technologies capable of converting oil- and/or gas-fired boilers to coal combustion. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of an improved portion of a previously developed retrofit system designed for the purpose of converting oil/gas boilers. This improvement would almost entirely eliminate the use of premium fuels, thereby significantly increasing the economical attractiveness of the system. Specifically, the goals in this program were to replace natural gas as a reburning fuel with coal-water fuel (CWF). The advantages of such a system include: (1) increased return on investment (ROI) for conversions; (2) nearly complete elimination of premium oil or gas fuel; (3) a more integrated approach to the conversion of oil- or gas-designed boilers to CWF.

Objective of proposed action is to conduct a 250-kW product developmenttest of M-C Power Corporation`s molten carbonate fuel cell concept, at the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center. Review of environmental impacts of this test indicate the following: no impact on solid waste disposal, water quality, noise levels, floodplains, wetlands, ecology, historic areas, or socioeconomic resources. Impact on air quality are expected to be positive.

Objective of proposed action is to conduct a 250-kW product developmenttest of M-C Power Corporation's molten carbonate fuel cell concept, at the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center. Review of environmental impacts of this test indicate the following: no impact on solid waste disposal, water quality, noise levels, floodplains, wetlands, ecology, historic areas, or socioeconomic resources. Impact on air quality are expected to be positive.

A finite element model has been developed to quantitatively evaluate the local thermomechanical conditions for weld metal solidification cracking in a laboratory weldability test (the Sigmajig test). The loading mechanism in the Sigmajig test was simulated by means of nonlinear spring elements. The effects of weld pool solidification on the thermal and mechanical behaviors of the specimen were considered. An efficient algorithm was developed to include the solidification effects in the material constitutive relations. Stress/temperature/location diagrams were constructed to reveal the local stress development behind the traveling weld pool where solidification cracking occurs. Based on the concept of the material resistance to cracking and the mechanical driving force for cracking, the calculated local stress in the solidification temperature range was used to explain the experimentally observed cracking initiation behaviors of a nickel-based superalloy single crystal under different welding and loading conditions.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been researching the application of solid-oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) for large-scale hydrogen production from steam over a temperature range of 800 to 900 C. From 2003 to 2009, this work was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, under the Office of Nuclear Energy. Starting in 2010, the high-temperature electrolysis (HTE) research program has been sponsored by the INL Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project. This report provides a summaryof program activities performed in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 and the first quarter of FY-12, with a focus on small-scale testing and cell development activities. HTE research priorities during this period have included the development and testing of SOEC and stack designs that exhibit high-efficiency initial performance and low, long-term degradation rates. This report includes contributions from INL and five industry partners: Materials and Systems Research, Incorporated (MSRI); Versa Power Systems, Incorporated (VPS); Ceramatec, Incorporated; National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Glenn Research Center (NASA - GRC); and the St. Gobain Advanced Materials Division. These industry partners have developed SOEC cells and stacks for in-house testing in the electrolysis mode and independent testing at INL. Additional fundamental research and post-test physical examinations have been performed at two university partners: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Connecticut. Summaries of these activities and test results are also presented in this report.

This report summarizes the advanced development of the Spectrum Sciences Model 5005-TF, Single-Event Test Fixture. The Model 5005-TF uses a Californium-252 (Cf-252) fission-fragment source to test integrated circuits and other devices for the effects of single-event phenomena. Particle identification methods commonly used in high-energy physics research and nuclear engineering have been incorporated into the Model 5005-TF for estimating the particle charge, mass, and energy parameters. All single-event phenomena observed in a device under test (DUT) are correlated with an identified fission fragment, and its linear energy transfer (LET) and range in the semiconductor material of the DUT.

Under the funds-in CRADA agreement, NREL and CENER will collaborate in the areas of blade and drivetrain testing facility development and code development. The project shall include NREL assisting in the review and instruction necessary to assist in commissioning the new CENER blade test and drivetrain test facilities. In addition, training will be provided by allowing CENER testing staff to observe testing and operating procedures at the NREL blade test and drivetrain test facilities. CENER and NREL will exchange blade and drivetrain facility and equipment design and performance information. The project shall also include exchanging expertise in code development and data to validate numerous computational codes.

ABSTRACT The Solid-State Fault Current Limiter (SSCL) is a promising technology that can be applied to utility power delivery systems to address the problem of increasing fault currents associated with load growth. As demand continues to grow, more power is added to utility system either by increasing generator capacity or by adding distributed generators, resulting in higher available fault currents, often beyond the capabilities of the present infrastructure. The SSCL is power-electronics based equipment designed to work with the present utility system to address this problem. The SSCL monitors the line current and dynamically inserts additional impedance into the line in the event of a fault being detected. The SSCL is based on a modular design and can be configured for 5kV through 69kV systems at nominal current ratings of 1000A to 4000A. Results and Findings This report provides the final test results on the development of 15kV class SSCL single phase power stack. The scope of work included the design of the modular standard building block sub-assemblies, the design and manufacture of the power stack and the testing of the power stack for the key functional tests of continuous current capability and fault current limiting action. Challenges and Objectives Solid-State Current Limiter technology impacts a wide spectrum of utility engineering and operating personnel. It addresses the problems associated with load growth both at Transmission and Distribution class networks. The design concept is pioneering in terms of developing the most efficient and compact power electronics equipment for utility use. The initial test results of the standard building blocks are promising. The independent laboratory tests of the power stack are promising. However the complete 3 phase system needs rigorous testing for performance and reliability. Applications, Values, and Use The SSCL is an intelligent power-electronics device which is modular in design and can provide current

The US has developed, stored, tested, and conducted disposal operations on various forms of chemical munitions for several decades. The remnants of these activities have resulted in the presence of suspect CWM at more than 200 sites in the US, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands. An advanced Mobile Munitions Assessment System (Phase II MMAS) has been designed, fabricated, assembled, and tested by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory under contract to the US Army's Project Manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel for use in the assessment and characterization of ''non-stockpile'' chemical warfare materiel (CWM). The Phase II MMAS meets the immediate need to augment response equipment currently used by the US Army with a system that includes state-of-the-art assessment equipment and advanced sensors. The Phase II MMAS will be used for response to known storage and remediation sites. This system is designed to identify the munition type; evaluate the condition of the CWM; evaluate the environmental conditions in the vicinity of the CWM; determine if fuzes, bursters, or safety and arming devices are in place; identify the chemical fill; provide other data (e.g., meteorological data) necessary for assessing the risk associated with handling, transporting, and disposing of CWM; and record the data on a dedicated computer system. The Phase II MMAS is capable of over-the-road travel and air transport to any site for conducting rigorous assessments of suspect CWM. The Phase II MMAS utilizes a specially-designed commercial motor home to provide a means to transport an interactive network of non-intrusive characterization and assessment equipment. The assessment equipment includes radiography systems, a gamma densitometer system, a Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy (PINS) system, a Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) system, air monitoring equipment (i.e., M-90s and a field ion spectroscopy system), and a phase determination

Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program 2010 Peer Review Concept Testing and Development at the Raft River Geothermal Field, Idaho, for the Engineered Geothermal Systems Demonstration Projects and Low Temperature Exploration and Demonstrations Project Track. Objective to Develop and demonstrate the techniques required to form and sustain EGS reservoirs including combined thermal and hydraulic stimulation and numerical modeling and Improve the performance and output of the Raft

We present field test results for a new spectroscopic instrument to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) with high precision (0.02 ÎŒmol mol-1, or ppm at 1 Hz) and demonstrate high stability (within 0.1 ppm over more than 8 months), without the need for hourly, daily, or even monthly calibration against high-pressure gas cylinders. The technical novelty of this instrument (ABsolute Carbon dioxide, ABC) is the spectral null method using an internal quartz reference cell with known CO2 column density. Compared to a previously described prototype, the field instrument has better stability and benefits from more precise thermal control of themoreÂ Â» optics and more accurate pressure measurements in the sample cell (at the mTorr level). The instrument has been deployed at a long-term ecological research site (the Harvard Forest, USA), where it has measured for 8 months without on-site calibration and with minimal maintenance, showing drift bounds of less than 0.1 ppm. Field measurements agree well with those of a commercially available cavity ring-down CO2 instrument (Picarro G2301) run with a standard calibration protocol. This field test demonstrates that ABC is capable of performing high-accuracy, unattended, continuous field measurements with minimal use of reference gas cylinders.Â«Â less

We present field test results for a new spectroscopic instrument to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) with high precision (0.02 ppm at 1 Hz) and demonstrate high stability (within 0.1 ppm over more than 8 months), without the need for hourly, daily, or even monthly calibration against high-pressure gas cylinders. The technical novelty of this instrument (ABsolute Carbon dioxide, ABC) is the spectral null method using an internal quartz reference cell with known CO2 column density. Compared to a previously described prototype, the field instrument has better stability and benefits from more precise thermal control of the optics and moremoreÂ Â» accurate pressure measurements in the sample cell (at the mTorr level). The instrument has been deployed at a long-term ecological research site (the Harvard Forest, USA), where it has measured for eight months without on-site calibration and with minimal maintenance, showing drift bounds of less than 0.1 ppm. Field measurements agree well with those of another commercially available cavity ring-down CO2 instrument (Picarro G2301) run with a standard calibration protocol. This field test demonstrates that ABC is capable of performing high-accuracy, unattended, continuous field measurements with minimal use of calibration cylinders.Â«Â less

This document, addressed to members of the waste management research and development community summarizes reference and testing materials available from the Nuclear Waste Materials Characterization Center (MCC). These materials are furnished under the MCC's charter to distribute reference materials essential for quantitative evaluation of nuclear waste package materials under development in the US. Reference materials with known behavior in various standard waste management related tests are needed to ensure that individual testing programs are correctly performing those tests. Approved testing materials are provided to assist the projects in assembling materials data base of defensible accuracy and precision. This is the second issue of this publication. Eight new Approved Testing Materials are listed, and Spent Fuel is included as a separate section of Standard Materials because of its increasing importance as a potential repository storage form. A summary of current characterization information is provided for each material listed. Future issues will provide updates of the characterization status of the materials presented in this issue, and information about new standard materials as they are acquired. 7 references, 1 figure, 19 tables.

This paper discusses research for new Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) capabilities. Findings indicate that UAV performance could be greatly enhanced by modest research. Improved sensors and communications enhance near term cost effectiveness. Improved engines, platforms, and stealth improve long term effectiveness.

EPRI is leading a project team to develop and implement the first five years of a Test Plan to collect data from a SNF dry storage system containing high burnup fuel.12 The Test Plan defined in this document outlines the data to be collected, and the storage system design, procedures, and licensing necessary to implement the Test Plan.13 The main goals of the proposed test are to provide confirmatory data14 for models, future SNF dry storage cask design, and to support license renewals and new licenses for ISFSIs. To provide data that is most relevant to high burnup fuel in dry storage, the design of the test storage system must mimic real conditions that high burnup SNF experiences during all stages of dry storage: loading, cask drying, inert gas backfilling, and transfer to the ISFSI for multi-year storage.15 Along with other optional modeling, SETs, and SSTs, the data collected in this Test Plan can be used to evaluate the integrity of dry storage systems and the high burnup fuel contained therein over many decades. It should be noted that the Test Plan described in this document discusses essential activities that go beyond the first five years of Test Plan implementation.16 The first five years of the Test Plan include activities up through loading the cask, initiating the data collection, and beginning the long-term storage period at the ISFSI. The Test Plan encompasses the overall project that includes activities that may not be completed until 15 or more years from now, including continued data collection, shipment of the Research Project Cask to a Fuel Examination Facility, opening the cask at the Fuel Examination Facility, and examining the high burnup fuel after the initial storage period.

In this report we present the results on the tensile testing of phase 2 FeCrAl alloys (Mo and Nb added for high temperature strength) developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We also compare FeCrAl with MA956 which is an ODS FeCrAl.

This paper presents series efforts to lower resistance of bakelite electrode plate to improve the RPC capability under high rate working condition. New bakelite material with alkali metallic ion doping has been manufactured and tested. This bakelite is found unstable under large charge flux and need further investigation. A new structure of carbon-embedded bakelite RPC has been developed, which can reduce the effective resistance of electrode by a factor of 10. The prototype of the carbon-embedded chamber could function well under gamma radiation source at event rate higher than 10 kHz/cm2. The preliminary tests show that this kind of newmoreÂ Â» structure performs as efficiently as traditional RPCs.Â«Â less

This paper presents series efforts to lower resistance of bakelite electrode plate to improve the RPC capability under high rate working condition. New bakelite material with alkali metallic ion doping has been manufactured and tested. This bakelite is found unstable under large charge flux and need further investigation. A new structure of carbon-embedded bakelite RPC has been developed, which can reduce the effective resistance of electrode by a factor of 10. The prototype of the carbon-embedded chamber could function well under gamma radiation source at event rate higher than 10 kHz/cm2. The preliminary tests show that this kind of new structure performs as efficiently as traditional RPCs.

We have identified three initial preceramic polymers to help produce the SiC-based alloys for this project and have developed simple processing steps to make SiC-based alloy ceramics. The use of unfilled SMP-10 (Polycarbosilane) or SMP-877 (Methyl-Polycarbosilane) is not feasible due to the large mass losses that occur during pyrolysis. The pre-gelling steps below save time when those two polymers are filled with powders. The use of SL-MS30 provides us with a SiC-filled polymer that can be used to test out the CNT mats without further complications due to other powders.

This project, Development and Testing of a High Capacity Plasma Chemical Reactor in the Ukraine was established at the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT). The associated CRADA was established with Campbell Applied Physics (CAP) located in El Dorado Hills, California. This project extends an earlier project involving both CAP and KIPT conducted under a separate CRADA. The initial project developed the basic Plasma Chemical Reactor (PCR) for generation of ozone gas. This project built upon the technology developed in the first project, greatly enhancing the output of the PCR while also improving reliability and system control.

The wind power industry in North America has an immediate need for larger blade test facilities to ensure the survival of the industry. Blade testing is necessary to meet certification and investor requirements and is critical to achieving the reliability and blade life needed for the wind turbine industry to succeed. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Wind Program is exploring options for collaborating with government, private, or academic entities in a partnership to build larger blade test facilities in North America capable of testing blades up to at least 70 m in length. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) prepared this report for DOE to describe the immediate need to pursue larger blade test facilities in North America, categorize the numerous prospective partners for a North American collaboration, and document the requirements for a North American test facility.

Nanofabrication and Devices Capabilities The CNM's ability to fabricate complex nanostructures and devices is based on the advanced tool set housed within the Nanofabrication & Devices Group's clean room. The bay-and-chase configured clean room spans over 11,500 sq. ft. and contains a remarkable depth and breadth of nanofabrication equipment. The clean room staff have over 100 combined years of experience in fabrication, processing, and MEMS design, development, and manufacturing. See below

Prior to commercial operation, large solar systems in utility-size power plants need to pass a performance acceptance test conducted by the EPC contractor or owners. In lieu of the present absence of engineering code developed for this purpose, NREL has undertaken the development of interim guidelines to provide recommendations for test procedures that can yield results of a high level of accuracy consistent with good engineering knowledge and practice. The fundamental differences between acceptance of a solar power plant and a conventional fossil-fired plant are the transient nature of the energy source and the necessity to utilize an analytical performance model in the acceptance process. These factors bring into play the need to establish methods to measure steady state performance, potential impacts of transient processes, comparison to performance model results, and the possible requirement to test, or model, multi-day performance within the scope of the acceptance test procedure. The power block and BOP are not within the boundaries of this guideline. The current guideline is restricted to the solar thermal performance of parabolic trough systems and has been critiqued by a broad range of stakeholders in CSP development and technology.

This is the final report of a two-year Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The project sought to develop a more sensitive and less expensive method of detecting organic contaminants. Assaying complex environmental samples for organic contaminant content is costly and labor intensive. This often limits extensive testing. Sensitive microbial biosensors that detect specific organic contaminants in complex waste mixtures without prior separation from other waste components have been developed. Some soil microbes degrade organic compounds that contaminate the environment. These bacteria sense minute quantities of particular organic compounds then respond by activating genes encoding enzymes that degrade these molecules. Genetic manipulation of these gene regulatory processes has been employed to develop unique biosensors that detect specific organic compounds using standard biochemical assays. Such biosensors allow rapid, sensitive testing of environmental samples for selected organic contaminants. The cost of biosensor assays is at least 100-fold less than present methods, allowing more rapid and extensive testing and site characterization.

This topical report summarizes work accomplished for the Program from January 1, 2003 through December 31,2004 in the following task areas: Task 1--Materials Development; Task 2--Composite Development; Task 4--Reactor Design and Process Optimization; Task 8--Fuels and Engine Testing; 8.1 International Diesel Engine Program; and Task IO: Program Management. Most of the key technical objectives for this budget period were achieved. Only partial success was achieved relative to cycle testing under pressure Major improvements in material performance and element reliability have been achieved. A breakthrough material system has driven the development of a compact planar reactor design capable of producing either hydrogen or syngas. The planar reactor shows significant advantages in thermal efficiency and costs compared to either steam methane reforming with CO{sub 2} recovery or autothermal reforming. The fuel and engine testing program is complete The single cylinder test engine evaluation of UCTF fuels begun in Budget Period 2 was finished this budget period. In addition, a study to evaluate new fuel formulations for an HCCl engine was completed.

To address the critical site characterization and monitoring needs for CCS programs, US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Paulsson, Inc. in 2010 a contract to design, build and test a fiber optic based ultra-large bandwidth clamped borehole seismic vector array capable of deploying up to one thousand 3C sensor pods suitable for deployment into high temperature and high pressure boreholes. Paulsson, Inc. has completed a design or a unique borehole seismic system consisting of a novel drill pipe based deployment system that includes a hydraulic clamping mechanism for the sensor pods, a new sensor pod design and most important â a unique fiber optic seismic vector sensor with technical specifications and capabilities that far exceed the state of the art seismic sensor technologies. These novel technologies were all applied to the new borehole seismic system. In combination these technologies will allow for the deployment of up to 1,000 3C sensor pods in vertical, deviated or horizontal wells. Laboratory tests of the fiber optic seismic vector sensors developed during this project have shown that the new borehole seismic sensor technology is capable of generating outstanding high vector fidelity data with extremely large bandwidth: 0.01 â 6,000 Hz. Field tests have shown that the system can record events at magnitudes much smaller than M-2.3 at frequencies up to 2,000 Hz. The sensors have also proved to be about 100 times more sensitive than the regular coil geophones that are used in borehole seismic systems today. The fiber optic seismic sensors have furthermore been qualified to operate at temperatures over 300Â°C (572Â°F). The fibers used for the seismic sensors in the system are used to record Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) data allowing additional value added data to be recorded simultaneously with the seismic vector sensor data.

Leakage testing of a representative sample of the safety-significant isolation valves for Double Valve Isolation (DVI) in an environment that simulates the abrasive characteristics of the Hanford Tank Farms Waste Transfer System during waste feed delivery to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is to be conducted. The testing will consist of periodic leak performed on the DVI valves after prescribed numbers of valve cycles (open and close) in a simulated environment representative of the abrasive properties of the waste and the Waste Transfer System. The valve operations include exposure to cycling conditions that include gravity drain and flush operation following slurry transfer. The simulant test will establish the performance characteristics and verify compliance with the Documented Safety Analysis. Proper simulant development is essential to ensure that the critical process streams characteristics are represented, National Research Council report âAdvice on the Department of Energy's Cleanup Technology Roadmap: Gaps and Bridgesâ

Experiments are needed to locate phase boundaries and to provide both Hugoniot data and off-Hugoniot data (such as principle isentrope, refreezing, dynamic strength, etc.) achieved through complex loading paths. The objective of the current work was to de- velop a large bore (3.5 inch or greater) powder gun capable of accelerating projectiles to moderately high velocities exceeding 2 km/s for impact experiments. A total of 24 ex- periments were performed to measure the projectile velocity, breech strain, and projectile tilt to demonstrate the performance of the gun up to the maximum breech capacity of 16 pounds of propellant. Physics experiments using a multislug method were performed to obtain sound speed and Hugoniot for shocked cerium metal and to demonstrate the ability of the large bore gun to conduct well-defined, plate-impact experiments. In addition, six experiments were performed on the prototype containment system to examine the ability of the launcher and containment system to withstand the impact event and contain the propellant gases and impact debris postshot. The data presented here were essential for qualification of the launcher for experiments to be conducted at the U1a complex of the Nevada Test Site.

The planned effort for the task 2 tests has four major objectives. They are computer controlled combustor operation, optimization of SO2 reduction, combustor materials durability, and testing focused on application to industrial coal fired boilers. Several major advances in the combustor development have occurred since this original plan was proposed in 1991. Some of these advances occurred in tests performed in a project that was completed in June 1992, while others occurred during the design and shakedown tests of equipment that was installed in task I of this project. Therefore, the present test plan is based on the current status of the combustor technology, and it differs somewhat from the preliminary test plan that was prepared in April 1992. Depending on the results in the early tests in this task, further test plan modifications may be required. However, the general objectives will most probably remain unchanged.

The palladium membrane reactor (PMR) is proving to be a simple and effective means for recovering hydrogen isotopes from fusion fuel impurities such as methane and water. This device directly combines two techniques which have long been utilized for hydrogen processing, namely catalytic shift reactions and palladium/silver permeators. A proof-of-principle (PMR) has been constructed and tested at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The first tests with this device showed that is was effective for the proposed purpose. Initial work concluded that a nickel catalyst was an appropriate choice for use in a PMR. More detailed testing of the PMR with such a catalyst was performed and reported in other works. It was shown that a nickel catalyst-packed PMR did, indeed, recover hydrogen from water and methane with efficiencies approaching 100% in a single processing pass. These experiments were conducted over an extended period of time and no failure or need for regeneration was encountered. These positive results have prompted further PMR development. Topics addressed include alternate PMR geometries and initial testing of the PMR with tritium. These are the subjects of this paper.

A joint effort to prepare engineered forms of a Ni-DOBDC metal organic framework (MOF) was completed with contributions from PNNL, SNL and the INL. Two independent methods were used at INL and SNL to prepare engineered form (EF) sorbents from Ni-DOBDC MOF powder developed and prepared at PNNL. Xe and Kr capacity test evaluations were performed at ambient temperature with the cryostat experimental setup at INL. The initial INL EF MOF test results indicated a Xe capacity of 1.6 mmol/kg sorbent and no Kr capacity. A large loss of surface area also occurred during minimal testing rendering the INL EF MOF unusable. Four capacity tests were completed using the SNL EF MOF at ambient temperature and resulted in Xe capacities of 1.4, 4.2, 5.0 and 3.8 mmol/kg sorbent with no Kr capacity observed in any ambient temperature tests. Two additional capacity tests were performed at 240 K to further evaluate SNL EF MOF performance. Xe capacities of 50.7 and 49.3 mmol/kg of sorbent and Kr capacities of 0.77 and 0.69 mmol/kg of sorbent were obtained, respectively. Following the adsorption evaluations, the SNL EF MOF material had lost about 40 % of the initial mass and 40 % of the initial surface area. In general, the Xe capacity results at ambient temperature for the INL and SNL EF Ni-DOBDC MOFâs were lower than 9.8 mmol Xe/kg sorbent test results reported by INL in FY-12 using PNNLâs inital EF supplied material.

This report summarizes the work performed for manufacturing and demonstrating the performance of its 250-kW molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack in an integrated system at the Naval Air Station Miramar (NAS Miramar) located in San Diego, California. The stack constructed for the demonstration test at the NAS Miramar consisted of 250 cells. It was manufactured using M-C Power`s patented Internally Manifolded Heat Exchanger (IMHEX{reg_sign}) stack design. The demonstration test at NAS Miramar was designed to operate the 250-kW MCFC stack in a cogeneration mode. This test represented the first attempt to thermally integrate an MCFC stack in a cogeneration system. The test was started on January 10, 1997, and voluntarily terminated on May 12, 1997, after 2,350 hours of operation at temperatures above 1,100 F and at a pressure of three atmospheres. It produced 160 MWh of d.c. power and 346,000 lbs of 110 psig steam for export during 1,566 hours of on-load operations. The test demonstrated a d.c. power output of 206 kW. Most of the balance of the plant (BOP) equipment operated satisfactorily. However, the off-the-shelf automotive turbocharger used for supplying air to the plant failed on numerous occasions and the hot gas blower developed seal leakage problems which impacted continuous plant operations. Overall the demonstration test at NAS Miramar was successful in demonstrating many critical features of the IMHEX technology. Lessons learned from this test will be very useful for improving designs and operations for future MCFC power plants.

The remoteness of Australia`s northwest shelf presents challenges for the economic viability of offshore resource-development projects. Accordingly, the East Spar development has been designed to minimize capital and life-cycle costs to ensure the long-term viability of this offshore gas field. The offshore facilities are made up of a novel unmanned navigation, communication, and control (NCC) buoy linked to a subsea-production system that includes heat exchangers, insert-retrievable choke valves, multiphase flow-meters, and an on-line pipeline-corrosion monitoring system. The technological building blocks for field development are industry proved. However, the novel arrangement of this proven technology into a remotely controlled, self-contained, minimum-maintenance unmanned facility is unique and has led to many challenges during the design and testing of the NCC buoy and subsea facilities. Among these challenges has been the formulation of an integration test program of the NCC buoy and subsea hardware that proves, as far as reasonably possible, the complete functionality of each equipment item and interface, subject to constraints imposed by schedule, cost, and logistics. Integration testing is particularly important to confirm that the offshore facilities will operate as designed with sufficient reliability and system redundancy to ensure continuous operation throughout the 20-year field life.

Projects for the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the very high temperature reactor. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high-temperature and high-fluence environments. The NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) at the Idaho National Laboratory has been established to ensure that VHTR data are (1) qualified for use, (2) stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and (3) analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the third NDMAS objective. It describes capabilities for displaying the data in meaningful ways and for data analysis to identify useful relationships among the measured quantities. The capabilities are described from the perspective of NDMAS users, starting with those who just view experimental data and analytical results on the INL NDMAS web portal. Web display and delivery capabilities are described in detail. Also the current web pages that show Advanced Gas Reactor, Advanced Graphite Capsule, and High Temperature Materials test results are itemized. Capabilities available to NDMAS developers are more extensive, and are described using a second series of examples. Much of the data analysis efforts focus on understanding how thermocouple measurements relate to simulated temperatures and other experimental parameters. Statistical control charts and correlation monitoring provide an ongoing assessment of instrument accuracy. Data analysis capabilities are virtually unlimited for those who use the NDMAS web data download capabilities and the analysis software of their choice. Overall, the NDMAS provides convenient data analysis and web delivery capabilities for studying a very large and rapidly increasing database of well-documented, pedigreed data.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management, formerly the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM), was established in November 1989 as the first step toward correcting contamination problems resulting from nearly 50 years of nuclear weapons production and fuel processing activities. EM consolidates several DOE organizations previously responsible for the handling, treatment, and disposition of radioactive and hazardous waste. Within EM, the Office of Technology Development (OTD/EM-50) is responsible for developing technologies to meet DOE`s goal for environmental restoration. OTD manages an aggressive national program of applied research, development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation (RDDT and E) for environmental cleanup, waste management, and related technologies. The program is designed to resolve major technical issues, to rapidly advanced beyond current technologies for environmental restoration and waste management operations, and to expedite compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. This report summarizes Fiscal Year 1994 (FY94) programmatic information, accomplishments, and planned activities relevant to the individual activities within OTD`s RDDT and E.

Engineering development and testing of the SRTALK solvent extraction process are discussed in this paper. This process provides a way to carry out alkaline-side removal and recovery of technetium in the form of pertechnetate anion from nuclear waste tanks within the DOE complex. The SRTALK extractant consists of a crown ether, bis-4,4'(5')[(tert-butyl)cyclohexano]-18-crown-6, in a modifier, tributyl phosphate, and a diluent, Isopar-L. The SRTALK flowsheet given here separates technetium form the waste and concentrates it by a factor of ten to minimize the load on downstream evaporator for the technetium effluent. In this work, we initially generated and correlated the technetium extraction data, measured the dispersion number for various processing conditions, and determined hydraulic performance in a single-stage 2-cm centrifugal contactor. Then we used extraction-factor analysis, single-stage contactor tests, and stage-to-stage process calculations to develop a SRTALK flowsheet . Key features of the flowsheet are (1) a low organic-to-aqueous (O/A) flow ratio in the extraction section and a high O/A flow ratio in the strip section to concentrate the technetium and (2) the use of a scrub section to reduce the salt load in the concentrated technetium effluent. Finally, the SRTALK process was evaluated in a multistage test using a synthetic tank waste. This test was very successful. Initial batch tests with actual waste from the Hanford nuclear waste tanks show the same technetium extractability as determined with the synthetic waste feed. Therefore, technetium removal from actual tank wastes should also work well using the SRTALK process.

This report discusses the statistical methods for quantifying uncertainties in 1) test responses and other parameters in the Large Scale Integrated Testing (LSIT), and 2) estimates of coefficients and predictions of mixing performance from models that relate test responses to test parameters. Testing at a larger scale has been committed to by Bechtel National, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to âaddress uncertainties and increase confidence in the projected, full-scale mixing performance and operationsâ in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the US Department of Energy Nuclear Physics Program have built a high-resolution Electromagnetic Isotope Separator (EMIS) as a prototype for reestablishing a US based enrichment capability for stable isotopes. ORNL has over 60 years of experience providing enriched stable isotopes and related technical services to the international accelerator target community, as well as medical, research, industrial, national security, and other communities. ORNL is investigating the combined use of electromagnetic and gas centrifuge isotope separation technologies to provide research quantities (milligram to several kilograms) of enriched stable isotopes. In preparation for implementing a larger scale production facility, a 10 mA high-resolution EMIS prototype has been built and tested. Initial testing of the device has simultaneously collected greater than 98% enriched samples of all the molybdenum isotopes from natural abundance feedstock.

NREL discoveries will enable manufacturers to produce more robust photovoltaic modules. Over the past decade, some photovoltaic (PV) modules have experienced power losses because of the system voltage stress that modules experience in fielded arrays. This is partly because qualification tests and standards do not adequately evaluate the durability of modules that undergo the long-term effects of high voltage. Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) tried various testing methods and stress levels to demonstrate module durability to system voltage potential-induced degradation (PID) mechanisms. The results of these accelerated tests, along with outdoor testing, were used to estimate the acceleration factors needed to more accurately evaluate the durability of modules to system voltage stress. NREL was able to determine stress factors, levels, and methods for testing based on the stresses experienced by modules in the field. These results, in combination with those in the literature, suggest that constant stress with humidity and system voltage is more damaging than stress applied intermittently or with periods of recovery comprising hot and dry conditions or alternating bias in between. NREL has determined some module constructions to be extremely durable to PID. These findings will help the manufacturers of PV materials and components produce more durable products that better satisfy their customers. NREL determined that there is rapid degradation of some PV modules under system voltage stress and evaluated degradation rates in the field to develop more accurate accelerated testing methods. PV module manufacturers will be better able to choose robust materials and durable designs and guarantee sturdier, longer-lasting products. As PV modules become more durable, and thus more efficient over the long term, the risks and the cost of PV power will be reduced.

This report describes the work done under Phase II, the verification testing of the Kinetic Extruder. The main objective of the test program was to determine failure modes and wear rates. Only minor auxiliary equipment malfunctions were encountered. Wear rates indicate useful life expectancy of from 1 to 5 years for wear-exposed components. Recommendations are made for adapting the equipment for pilot plant and commercial applications. 3 references, 20 figures, 12 tables.

In order to evaluate the water chemistry in the irradiation field during IASCC irradiation test, a water radiolysis code for IASCC irradiation loop system was developed. In the water radiolysis code, a multiple node model was introduced since the irradiation loop system has a wide rage temperature distribution as well as the dose distribution. To investigate the applicability of developed water radiolysis code, water chemistry at the water sampling point of the irradiation loop system was measured and compared with analytical results under several water chemistry conditions. Further, water chemistry distribution in the in-pile region as well as in the out-pile region was calculated by the developed water radiolysis code. (authors)

From early coiled tubing (CT) use to recent operations, most concerns have been about tube damage from past service and remaining safe working life. Composite CT (CCT) is designed and constructed to exhibit unique anisotropic characteristics relative to steel or alternative isotropic materials that expand burst, collapse, tensile and compressive load performance capabilities. In 1988, Conoco Inc. began a development effort focused on using high-performance composite materials to meet numerous challenges associated with current and future oil and gas exploration and development. At that time, Conoco initiated a project to explore composite materials use for high-pressure, long-length, non-corroding tubulars with primary application as onshore water injection lines. In 1989, Conoco awarded a contract to AMAT a/s in Sandefjord, Norway to develop spoolable composite pipe for small diameter subsea lines. Concurrent with ongoing spoolable composite subsea lines, Conoco also began to explore high-performance CCT development in 1989.

The P Reactor at the Savannah River Site is one of the first reactor facilities in the US DOE complex that has been placed in its end state through in situ decommissioning (ISD). The ISD end state consists of a grout-filled concrete civil structure within the concrete frame of the original building. To evaluate the feasibility and utility of remote sensors to provide verification of ISD system conditions and performance characteristics, an ISD Sensor Network Test Bed has been designed and deployed at the Savannah River National Laboratory. The test bed addresses the DOE-EM Technology Need to develop a remote monitoring system to determine and verify ISD system performance. Commercial off-the-shelf sensors have been installed on concrete blocks taken from walls of the P Reactor Building. Deployment of this low-cost structural monitoring system provides hands-on experience with sensor networks. The initial sensor system consists of: (1) Groutable thermistors for temperature and moisture monitoring; (2) Strain gauges for crack growth monitoring; (3) Tiltmeters for settlement monitoring; and (4) A communication system for data collection. Preliminary baseline data and lessons learned from system design and installation and initial field testing will be utilized for future ISD sensor network development and deployment.

The objective of this project was to develop and demonstrate the use of a superheated steam atmosphere dryer as a highly improved alternative to conventional hot air-drying systems, the present industrial standard method for drying various wet feedstocks. The development program plan consisted of three major activities. The first was engineering analysis and testing of a small-scale laboratory superheated steam dryer. This dryer provided the basic engineering heat transfer data necessary to design a large-scale system. The second major activity consisted of the design, fabrication, and laboratory checkout testing of the field-site prototype superheated steam dryer system. The third major activity consisted of the installation and testing of the complete 250-lb/hr evaporation rate dryer and a 30-kW cogeneration system in conjunction with an anaerobic digester facility at the Village of Bergen, NY. Feedstock for the digester facility at the Village of Bergen, NY. Feedstock for the digester was waste residue from a nearby commercial food processing plant. The superheated steam dryer system was placed into operation in August 1996 and operated successfully through March 1997. During this period, the dryer processed all the material from the digester to a powdered consistency usable as a high-nitrogen-based fertilizer.

We have made significant landmarks in our proposed work in the last 4 years (3 years plus 1 year of no cost extension). We have developed the simulation capability of the major isotopes in CESM. In particular, we have completed the implementation of the stable water isotopes (ÎŽ18O, ÎŽD) into the components for the atmosphere, ocean, land surface, runoff transport, sea ice, and coupler. In addition, the carbon isotopes (abiotic and biotic radiocarbon, ÎŽ13 C) have been implemented into the CESM ocean and land models, and long spinup simulations have been completed (Jahn et al., 2015). Furthermore, we have added abiotic Neodymium to the CESM ocean model as a tracer of ocean circulation, also measured by the proxy data community. Fullycoupled simulations with the stable water isotopes and ocean radiocarbon are currently being run for the preindustrial and also the Last Glacial Maximum. We have secured 19 million core-hours on the NWSC Yellowstone supercomputer for 12 months. Together with some CESM Paleoclimate Working Group CSL Yellowstone core hours, we are guaranteed sufficient computing for the spin-up experiments and deglaciation simulations for 21 to 15ka.

Coal Tech Corp's mission is to develop, license & sell innovative, lowest cost, solid fuel fired power systems & total emission control processes using proprietary and patented technology for domestic and international markets. The present project 'DEVELOPMENT & TESTING OF INDUSTRIAL SCALE, COAL FIRED COMBUSTION SYSTEM, PHASE 3' on DOE Contract DE-AC22-91PC91162 was a key element in achieving this objective. The project consisted of five tasks that were divided into three phases. The first phase, 'Optimization of First Generation 20 MMBtu/hr Air-Cooled Slagging Coal Tech Combustor', consisted of three tasks, which are detailed in Appendix 'A' of this report. They were implemented in 1992 and 1993 at the first generation, 20 MMBtu/hour, combustor-boiler test site in Williamsport, PA. It consisted of substantial combustor modifications and coal-fired tests designed to improve the combustor's wall cooling, slag and ash management, automating of its operation, and correcting severe deficiencies in the coal feeding to the combustor. The need for these changes was indicated during the prior 900-hour test effort on this combustor that was conducted as part of the DOE Clean Coal Program. A combination of combustor changes, auxiliary equipment changes, sophisticated multi-dimensional combustion analysis, computer controlled automation, and series of single and double day shift tests totaling about 300 hours, either resolved these operational issues or indicated that further corrective changes were needed in the combustor design. The key result from both analyses and tests was that the combustor must be substantially lengthened to maximize combustion efficiency and sharply increase slag retention in the combustor. A measure of the success of these modifications was realized in the third phase of this project, consisting of task 5 entitled: 'Site Demonstration with the Second Generation 20 MMBtu/hr Air-Cooled Slagging Coal Tech Combustor'. The details of the task 5 effort are

This study characterizes theoretical and industry approaches to organizational capabilities management and ascertains whether there is a distinct ''best practice'' in this regard. We consider both physical capabilities, such as technical disciplines and infrastructure, and non-physical capabilities such as corporate culture and organizational procedures. We examine Resource-Based Theory (RBT), which is the predominant organizational management theory focused on capabilities. RBT seeks to explain the effect of capabilities on competitiveness, and thus provide a basis for investment/divestment decisions. We then analyze industry approaches described to us in interviews with representatives from Goodyear, 3M, Intel, Ford, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. We found diversity amongst the industry capability management approaches. Although all organizations manage capabilities and consider them to some degree in their strategies, no two approaches that we observed were identical. Furthermore, we observed that theory is not a strong driver in this regard. No organization used the term ''Resource-Based Theory'', nor did any organization mention any other guiding theory or practice from the organizational management literature when explaining their capabilities management approaches. As such, we concluded that there is no single best practice for capabilities management. Nevertheless, we believe that RBT and the diverse industry experiences described herein can provide useful insights to support development of capabilities management approaches.

The overall objective of the on-going analytical efforts was to develop in-house expertise and analytical capability for the analysis of coal and coal-derived products in support of SRC-I process technology. The approach taken and work accomplished involved: identification of test methods and associated equipment; review and implementation of analytical facility plan; evaluation of existing instrumentation; evaluation and purchase of new instruments; training of laboratory personnel; validation or development of analytical methods; development of standard product work-up methods; and development of analytical protocol for detailed characterization of SRC-I solid and liquid products. Expertise in analytical chemistry was developed by organizing historical knowledge and assimilating new knowledge as it became available from inside and outside research facilities and the chemical literature. The data were then used to define analytical methods, instrumentation, space, staff needed to create a functional coal analysis laboratory. This report summarizes the direction and progress of the analytical development efforts during the period 1974 to 1980. 2 references, 5 figures.

The goal of the A&M DOE NETL Project No. DE-FE0000847 was to develop a mobile, multifunctional water treatment capability designed specifically for âpre-treatmentâ of field waste brine. The project consisted of constructing s mobile âfield laboratoryâ incorporating new technology for treating high salinity produced water and using the lab to conduct a side-by-side comparison between this new technology and that already existing in field operations. A series of four field trials were performed utilizing the mobile unit to demonstrate the effectiveness of different technology suitable for use with high salinity flow back brines and produced water. The design of the mobile unit was based on previous and current work at the Texas A&M Separation Sciences Pilot Plant. The several treatment techniques which have been found to be successful in both pilot plant and field tests had been tested to incorporate into a single multifunctional process train. Eight different components were evaluated during the trials, two types of oil and grease removal, one BTEX removal step, three micro-filters, and two different nanofilters. The performance of each technique was measured by its separation efficiency, power consumption, and ability to withstand fouling. The field trials were a success. Four different field brines were evaluated in the first trial in New York. Over 16,000 gallons of brine were processed. Using a power cost of $.10 per kWh, media pretreatment power use averaged $0.004 per barrel, solids removal $.04 per barrel and brine âsofteningâ $.84 per barrel. Total power cost was approximately $1.00 per barrel of fluid treated. In Pennsylvania, brines collected from frac ponds were tested in two additional trials. Each of the brines was converted to an oil-free, solids-free brine with no biological activity. Brines were stable over time and would be good candidates for use as a make-up fluid in a subsequent fracturing fluid design. Reports on all of the field

Tritium processing technologies of the two European Test Blanket Systems (TBS), HCLL (Helium Cooled Lithium Lead) and HCPB (Helium Cooled Pebble Bed), play an essential role in meeting the main objectives of the TBS experimental campaign in ITER. The compliancy with the ITER interface requirements, in terms of space availability, service fluids, limits on tritium release, constraints on maintenance, is driving the design of the TBS tritium processing systems. Other requirements come from the characteristics of the relevant test blanket module and the scientific programme that has to be developed and implemented. This paper identifies the main requirements for the design of the TBS tritium systems and equipment and, at the same time, provides an updated overview on the current design status, mainly focusing onto the tritium extractor from Pb-16Li and TBS tritium accountancy. Considerations are also given on the possible extrapolation to DEMO breeding blanket. (authors)

A digital revenue metering algorithm is described. The algorithm has been tested in a microcomputer system using two 8-bit MC6800 microprocessors and 12-bit analog-to-digital converters. The tests show that the system meets the accuracy requirements of ANSI C12-1975. The algorithm demands modest computing requirements and low data sampling rates. The algorithm uses Walsh-functions and will operate with as few as 4 samples per 60-Hz cycle. For proper response to odd harmonic frequencies, higher sampling rates must be used. Third harmonic power can be handled with an 8-sample per cycle Walsh function. However, even harmonics are effectively suppressed by the algorithm. The developed algorithm is intended for use in digital data acquisition systems for substations where interchange metering is required.

This is the final report covering a June 2004 through May 2009 grant to support the certification of solar thermal collectors and systems. The Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) has developed and maintained minimum standards and performance tests for solar water heating components and systems since 1980. The objective of this project was to continue the SRCC certification program and implement enhancements to the standards and test methods used to determine product durability and calculate performance ratings. This objective was met by supporting the operation of the certification programs and by performing five additional technical tasks that addressed specific areas that were identified for enhancement. Statistics on certifications and lists of issues that were addressed are reported.

Radioactive xenon isotopes are a critical part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for the detection or confirmation of nuclear weapons tests as well as on-site treaty verification monitoring. On-site monitoring is not currently conducted because there are no commercially available small/robust field detector devices to measure the radioactive xenon isotopes. Xenon is an ideal signature to detect clandestine nuclear events since they are difficult to contain and can diffuse and migrate through soils due to their inert nature. There are four key radioxenon isotopes used in monitoring: 135Xe (9 hour half-life), 133mXe (2 day half-life), 133Xe (5 day half-life) and 131mXe (12 day half-life) that decay through beta emission and gamma emission. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is a leader in the field of gas collections and has developed highly selective molecular sieves that allow for the collection of xenon gas directly from air. Phase I assessed the development of a small, robust beta-gamma coincidence counting system, that combines collection and in situ detection methodologies. Phase II of the project began development of the custom electronics enabling 2D beta-gamma coincidence analysis in a field portable system. This will be a significant advancement for field detection/quantification of short-lived xenon isotopes that would not survive transport time for laboratory analysis.

Insulated tubular products have become essential for use in steam injection projects. In a steam injection project, steam is created at the surface by either steam boilers or generators. During this process, steam travels from a boiler through surface lines to the wellhead, down the wellbore to the sandface, and into the reservoir. For some projects to be an economic success, cost must be reduced and oil recoveries must be increased by reducing heat losses in the wellbore. With reduced heats losses, steam generation costs are lowered and higher quality steam can be injected into the formation. To address this need, work under this project consisted of the design and construction of a thermal flow loop, testing a double-walled tubular product that was manufactured by Inter-Mountain Pipe Company, and the development and verification of a thermal hydraulic numerical simulator for steam injection. Four different experimental configurations of the double-walled pipe were tested. These configurations included: (1) bare pipe case, (2) bare pipe case with an applied annular vacuum, (3) insulated annular pipe case, and (4) insulated annular pipe case with an applied annular vacuum. Both the pipe body and coupling were tested with each configuration. The results of the experimental tests showed that the Inter-Mountain Pipe Company double-walled pipe body achieved a 98 percent reduction in heat loss when insulation was applied to the annular portion of the pipe. The application of insulation to the annular portion of the coupling reduced the heat losses by only 6 percent. In tests that specified the use of a vacuum in the annular portion of the pipe, leaks were detected and the vacuum could not be held.

This report describes the design, fabrication and testing of a 25kW phosphoric acid fuel cell system aimed at stationary applications, and the technology development underlying that system. The 25kW fuel cell ran at rated power in both the open and closed loop mode in the summer of 1988. Problems encountered and solved include acid replenishment leakage, gas cross-leakage and edge-leakage in bipolar plates, corrosion of metallic cooling plates and current collectors, cooling groove depth variations, coolant connection leaks, etc. 84 figs., 7 tabs.

A new four element Lithium Fluoride (LiF) badge and analysis algorithm have been developed and tested to better characterize personnel exposure in mixed radiation fields. The new badge is based on a commercially available chip card with three {sup 7}LiF elements and one {sup 6}LiF element. The badge holder is also based on a commercially available design, with modified filtration elements. The new algorithm takes advantage of the high temperature peak characteristics of the {sup 6}LiF element to better quantify neutron dose. The prototype badge was tested by using various mixtures of two fields typically used for dosimeter performance testing, as well as mixtures of three fields to better simulate actual operating conditions. The badge gave superior performance, based on the tolerance levels, when using the new algorithm as compared to an algorithm that did not use the high temperature peak methodology. The badge and algorithm are limited in that the approximate energy spectra of the neutron and beta field components must be characterized in advance.

The Spiral Notch Torsion Fracture Toughness Test (SNTT) was developed recently to determine the intrinsic fracture toughness (KIC) of structural materials. The SNTT system operates by applying pure torsion to uniform cylindrical specimens with a notch line that spirals around the specimen at a 45? pitch. KIC values are obtained with the aid of a three-dimensional finite-element computer code, TOR3D-KIC. The SNTT method is uniquely suitable for testing a wide variety of materials used extensively in pressure vessel and piping structural components and weldments. Application of the method to metallic, ceramic, and graphite materials has been demonstrated. One important characteristic of SNTT is that neither a fatigue precrack or a deep notch are required for the evaluation of brittle materials, which significantly reduces the sample size requirement. In this paper we report results for a Portland cement-based mortar to demonstrate applicability of the SNTT method to cementitious materials. The estimated KIC of the tested mortar samples with compressive strength of 34.45 MPa was found to be 0.19 MPa m.

Nondestructive waste assay (NDA) methods are employed to determine the mass and activity of waste-entrained radionuclides as part of the National TRU (Trans-Uranic) Waste Characterization Program. In support of this program the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Mixed Waste Focus Area developed a plan to acquire capability/performance data on systems proposed for NDA purposes. The Capability Evaluation Project (CEP) was designed to evaluate the NDA systems of commercial contractors by subjecting all participants to identical tests involving 55 gallon drum surrogates containing known quantities and distributions of radioactive materials in the form of sealed-source standards, referred to as working reference materials (WRMs). Although numerous Pu WRMs already exist, the CEP WRM set allows for the evaluation of the capability and performance of systems with respect to waste types/configurations which contain increased amounts of {sup 241}Am relative to weapons grade Pu, waste that is dominantly {sup 241}Am, as well as wastes containing various proportions of depleted uranium. The CEP WRMs consist of a special mixture of PuO{sub 2}/AmO{sub 2} (IAP) and diatomaceous earth (DE) or depleted uranium (DU) oxide and DE and were fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The IAP WRMS are contained inside a pair of welded inner and outer stainless steel containers. The DU WRMs are singly contained within a stainless steel container equivalent to the outer container of the IAP standards. This report gives a general overview and discussion relating to the production and certification of the CEP WRMs.

The Nevada Test SiteâDirected Research and Development (SDRD) program completed its fifth successful year of research and development activities in FY 2006. Forty new projects were selected for funding this year, and ten FY 2005 projects were brought to conclusion. The total funds expended by the SDRD program were $6 million, for an average per-project cost of $120 thousand. Beginning in May, 2006 programmatic burden rates were applied to SDRD project costs. An external audit conducted in September 2006 verified that appropriate accounting practices were applied to the SDRD program. Highlights for the year included: the filing of 27 invention disclosures for intellectual property generated by FY 2006 projects; programmatic adoption of four FY 2005 SDRD-developed technologies; participation in the tri-Lab Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) and SDRD program review that was broadly attended by NTS, NNSA, LDRD, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security representatives; peer reviews of all FY 2006 projects; and the successful completion of 50 R&D projects, as presented in this report.

The Nevada Test Site-Directed Research, Development, and Demonstration (SDRD) program completed a very successful year of research and development activities in FY 2005. Fifty new projects were selected for funding this year, and five FY 2004 projects were brought to conclusion. The total funds expended by the SDRD program were $5.4 million, for an average per project cost of just under $100,000. Two external audits of SDRD accounting practices were conducted in FY 2005. Both audits found the program's accounting practices consistent with the requirements of DOE Order 413.2A, and one included the observation that the NTS contractor ''did an exceptional job in planning and executing year-start activities.'' Highlights for the year included: the filing of 18 invention disclosures for intellectual property generated by FY 2005 projects; programmatic adoption of 17 FY 2004 SDRD-developed technologies; participation in the tri-lab Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) and SDRD program review that was broadly attended by NTS, NNSA, LDRD, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security representatives; peer reviews of all FY 2005 projects; and the successful completion of 55 R&D projects, as presented in this report.

The development of a radio frequency (RF) driven source for negative hydrogen ions for the neutral beam heating devices of fusion experiments has been successfully carried out at IPP since 1996 on the test facility BATMAN. The required ITER parameters have been achieved with the prototype source consisting of a cylindrical driver on the back side of a racetrack like expansion chamber. The extraction system, called âLarge Area Gridâ (LAG) was derived from a positive ion accelerator from ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) using its aperture size (Ăž 8â mm) and pattern but replacing the first two electrodes and masking down the extraction area to 70 cm2. BATMAN is a well diagnosed and highly flexible test facility which will be kept operational in parallel to the half size ITER source test facility ELISE for further developments to improve the RF efficiency and the beam properties. It is therefore planned to upgrade BATMAN with a new ITER-like grid system (ILG) representing almost one ITER beamlet group, namely 5 Ă 14 apertures (Ăž 14â mm). Additionally to the standard three grid extraction system a repeller electrode upstream of the grounded grid can optionally be installed which is positively charged against it by 2â kV. This is designated to affect the onset of the space charge compensation downstream of the grounded grid and to reduce the backstreaming of positive ions from the drift space backwards into the ion source. For magnetic filter field studies a plasma grid current up to 3â kA will be available as well as permanent magnets embedded into a diagnostic flange or in an external magnet frame. Furthermore different source vessels and source configurations are under discussion for BATMAN, e.g. using the AUG type racetrack RF source as driver instead of the circular one or modifying the expansion chamber for a more flexible position of the external magnet frame.

The condition of a nuclear material control and accountability system (MC&A) and its individual components, as with any system combining technical elements and documentation, may be characterized through an aggregate of values for the various parameters that determine the system's ability to perform. The MC&A system's status may be functioning effectively, marginally or not functioning based on a summary of the values of the individual parameters. This work included a review of the following subsystems, MC&A and Detecting Material Losses, and their respective elements for the material control and accountability system: (a) Elements of the MC&A Subsystem - Information subsystem (Accountancy/Inventory), Measurement subsystem, Nuclear Material Access subsystem, including tamper-indicating device (TID) program, and Automated Information-gathering subsystem; (b) Elements for Detecting Nuclear Material Loses Subsystem - Inventory Differences, Shipper/receiver Differences, Confirmatory Measurements and differences with accounting data, and TID or Seal Violations. In order to detect the absence or loss of nuclear material there must be appropriate interactions among the elements and their respective subsystems from the list above. Additionally this work includes a review of regulatory requirements for the MC&A system component characteristics and criteria that support the evaluation of the performance of the listed components. The listed components had performance testing algorithms and procedures developed that took into consideration the regulatory criteria. The developed MC&A performance-testing procedures were the basis for a Guide for MC&A Performance Testing at the material balance areas (MBAs) of State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation - Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (SSC RF-IPPE).

The UltraBattery Retrofit Project DP1.8 and Carbon Enriched Project C3, performed by ECOtality North America (ECOtality) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), are established to demonstrate the suitability of advanced lead battery technology in hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs). A profile, termed the âSimulated Honda Civic HEV Profileâ (SHCHEVP) has been developed in Project DP1.8 in order to provide reproducible laboratory evaluations of different battery types under real-world HEV conditions. The cycle is based on the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule and Highway Fuel Economy Test cycles and simulates operation of a battery pack in a Honda Civic HEV. One pass through the SHCHEVP takes 2,140 seconds and simulates 17.7 miles of driving. A complete nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery pack was removed from a Honda Civic HEV and operated under SHCHEVP to validate the profile. The voltage behavior and energy balance of the battery during this operation was virtually the same as that displayed by the battery when in the Honda Civic operating on the dynamometer under the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule and Highway Fuel Economy Test cycles, thus confirming the efficacy of the simulated profile. An important objective of the project has been to benchmark the performance of the UltraBatteries manufactured by both Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd., Japan (Furakawa) and East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc. (East Penn). Accordingly, UltraBattery packs from both Furakawa and East Penn have been characterized under a range of conditions. Resistance measurements and capacity tests at various rates show that both battery types are very similar in performance. Both technologies, as well as a standard lead-acid module (included for baseline data), were evaluated under a simple HEV screening test. Both Furakawa and East Penn UltraBattery packs operated for over 32,000 HEV cycles, with minimal loss in performance; whereas the

K-Reactor's number one GM diesel (GM-lK) suffered recurrent, premature piston pin bushing failures between July 1990 and January 1991. These failures raised a concern that the engine's original design capabilities were being exceeded. Were we asking old engines to do too much by powering 1200 kw (continuous) rated electrical generators Was excessive wear of the piston pin bushings a result of having exceeded the engine's capabilities (overload), or were the recent failures a direct result of poor quality, poor design, or defective replacement parts Considering the engine's overall performance for the past 30 years, during which an engine failure of this nature had never occurred, and the fact that 1200 kw was approximately 50% of the engine's original testedcapability, Reactor Engineering did not consider it likely that an overloaded engine caused bushing failures. What seemed more plausible was that the engine's failure to perform was caused by deficiencies in, or poor quality of, replacement parts.The following report documents: (1) the results of K-Reactor EDG failure analysis; (2) correlation of P- and C-Reactor GM diesel teardowns; (3) the engine rebuild to blueprint specification; (4) how the engine was determined ready for test; (5) testing parameters that were developed; (6) a summary of test results and test insights; (7) how WSRC determined engine operation was acceptable; (8) independent review of 1200 kw operational data; (9) approval of the engines' 12OOkw continuous rating.

K-Reactor`s number one GM diesel (GM-lK) suffered recurrent, premature piston pin bushing failures between July 1990 and January 1991. These failures raised a concern that the engine`s original design capabilities were being exceeded. Were we asking old engines to do too much by powering 1200 kw (continuous) rated electrical generators? Was excessive wear of the piston pin bushings a result of having exceeded the engine`s capabilities (overload), or were the recent failures a direct result of poor quality, poor design, or defective replacement parts? Considering the engine`s overall performance for the past 30 years, during which an engine failure of this nature had never occurred, and the fact that 1200 kw was approximately 50% of the engine`s original testedcapability, Reactor Engineering did not consider it likely that an overloaded engine caused bushing failures. What seemed more plausible was that the engine`s failure to perform was caused by deficiencies in, or poor quality of, replacement parts.The following report documents: (1) the results of K-Reactor EDG failure analysis; (2) correlation of P- and C-Reactor GM diesel teardowns; (3) the engine rebuild to blueprint specification; (4) how the engine was determined ready for test; (5) testing parameters that were developed; (6) a summary of test results and test insights; (7) how WSRC determined engine operation was acceptable; (8) independent review of 1200 kw operational data; (9) approval of the engines` 12OOkw continuous rating.

RELAP-7 is a nuclear systems safety analysis code being developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Building upon the decades of software development at the INL, we began the development of RELAP-7 in 2011 to support the Risk Informed Safety Margins Characterization (RISMC) Pathway. As part of this development, the first lines of RELAP-7 code were committed to the software revision control repository on November 7th, 2011. The overall design goal of RELAP-7 is to take advantage of the previous thirty years of advancements in computer architecture, software design, numerical methods, and physical models in order to provide capabilities needed for the RISMC methodology and to support nuclear power safety analysis. RELAP-7 is built using the INLâs modern scientific software development framework, MOOSE (Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment). MOOSE provides improved numerical calculations (including higher-order integration in both space and time, yielding converged second-order accuracy). The RELAP-7 code structure is based on multiple physical component models such as pipes, junctions, pumps, etc. Each component can have options for different fluid models such as single- and two-phase flow. This component-based and physics-based software architecture allows RELAP-7 to adopt different physical models for different applications. A relatively new two-phase hydrodynamic model, termed the ''7-Equation model'' for two phasic pressures, velocities, energies, and volumetric fraction, is incorporated into RELAP-7 for liquid-gas (water-steam) flows. This new model allows second-order integration because it is well-posed, which will reduce the numerical error associated with traditional systems analysis codes. In this paper, we provide a RELAP-7 capability list describing analysis features, range of applicability, and reactor components that will be available for the December 15th, 2014 beta release of the software.

Low background rare event searches in underground laboratories seeking observation of direct dark matter interactions or neutrino-less double beta decay have the potential to profoundly advance our understanding of the physical universe. Successful results from these experiments depend critically on construction from extremely radiologically clean materials and accurate knowledge of subsequent low levels of expected background. The experiments must conduct comprehensive screening campaigns to reduce radioactivity from detector components, and these measurements also inform detailed characterisation and quantification of background sources and their impact, necessary to assign statistical significance to any potential discovery. To provide requisite sensitivity for material screening and characterisation in the UK to support our rare event search activities, we have re-developed our infrastructure to add ultra-low background capability across a range of complementary techniques that collectively allow complete radioactivity measurements. Ultra-low background HPGe and BEGe detectors have been installed at the Boulby Underground Laboratory, itself undergoing substantial facility re-furbishment, to provide high sensitivity gamma spectroscopy in particular for measuring the uranium and thorium decay series products. Dedicated low-activity mass spectrometry instrumentation has been developed at UCL for part per trillion level contaminant identification to complement underground screening with direct U and Th measurements, and meet throughput demands. Finally, radon emanation screening at UCL measures radon background inaccessible to gamma or mass spectrometry techniques. With this new capability the UK is delivering half of the radioactivity screening for the LZ dark matter search experiment.

The purpose of this techbase project was to investigate the use of parallel array data types to reduce the memory footprint of the Livermore Equation Of State (LEOS) library. Addressing the memory scalability of LEOS is necessary to run large scientific simulations on IBM BG/L and future architectures with low memory per processing core. We considered using normal MPI, one-sided MPI, and Global Arrays to manage the distributed array and ended up choosing Global Arrays because it was the only communication library that provided the level of asynchronous access required. To reduce the runtime overhead using a parallel array data structure, a least recently used (LRU) caching algorithm was used to provide a local cache of commonly used parts of the parallel array. The approach was initially implemented in a isolated copy of LEOS and was later integrated into the main trunk of the LEOS Subversion repository. The approach was tested using a simple test. Testing indicated that the approach was feasible, and the simple LRU caching had a 86% hit rate.

This report outlines the development of an analysis tool capable of analyzing a variety of wind turbine, support platform, and mooring system configurations.The simulation capability was tested by model-to-model comparisons to ensure its correctness.

The overall goal of this project is to support Idaho National Laboratory in developing a new advanced high temperature multi fluid multi loop test facility that is aimed at investigating fluid flow and heat transfer, material corrosion, heat exchanger characteristics and instrumentation performance, among others, for nuclear applications. Specifically, preliminary research has been performed at The Ohio State University in the following areas: 1. A review of fluoride molten saltsâ characteristics in thermal, corrosive, and compatibility performances. A recommendation for a salt selection is provided. Material candidates for both molten salt and helium flow loop have been identified. 2. A conceptual facility design that satisfies the multi loop (two coolant loops [i.e., fluoride molten salts and helium]) multi purpose (two operation modes [i.e., forced and natural circulation]) requirements. Schematic models are presented. The thermal hydraulic performances in a preliminary printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) design have been estimated. 3. An introduction of computational methods and models for pipe heat loss analysis and cases studies. Recommendations on insulation material selection have been provided. 4. An analysis of pipe pressure rating and sizing. Preliminary recommendations on pipe size selection have been provided. 5. A review of molten fluoride salt preparation and chemistry control. An introduction to the experience from the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been provided. 6. A review of some instruments and components to be used in the facility. Flowmeters and Grayloc connectors have been included. This report primarily presents the conclusions drawn from the extensive review of literatures in material selections and the facility design progress at the current stage. It provides some useful guidelines in insulation material and pipe size selection, as well as an introductory review of facility process and components.

The Nevada Test Site-Directed Research and Development (SDRD) program completed a very successful year of research and development activities in FY 2007. Twenty-nine new projects were selected for funding this year, and eight projects started in FY 2006 were brought to conclusion. The total funds expended by the SDRD program were $5.67 million, for an average per-project cost of $153 thousand. An external audit conducted in September 2007 verified that appropriate accounting practices were applied to the SDRD program. Highlights for the year included: programmatic adoption of 8 SDRD-developed technologies; the filing of 9 invention disclosures for innovation evolving from SDRD projects; participation in the tri-Lab Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) and SDRD Symposium that was broadly attended by Nevada Test Site (NTS), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), LDRD, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) representatives; peer reviews of all FY 2007 projects; and the successful completion of 37 R&D projects, as presented in this report. In response to a company-wide call, authors throughout the NTS complex submitted 182 proposals for FY 2007 SDRD projects. The SDRD program has seen a dramatic increase in the yearly total of submitted proposals--from 69 in FY 2002 to 182 this year--while the number of projects funded has actually decreased from a program high of 57 in FY 2004. The overall effect of this trend has helped ensure an increasingly competitive program that benefited from a broader set of innovative ideas, making project selection both challenging and rewarding. Proposals were evaluated for technical merit, including such factors as innovation, probability of success, potential benefit, and mission applicability. Authors and reviewers benefited from the use of a shortfalls list entitled the 'NTS Technology Needs Assessment' that was compiled from NTS, National Weapons Laboratory (NWL), and

In the US, more than 10,000 electric vehicles (EV) have been delivered to consumers during the first three quarters of 2011. A large majority of these vehicles are battery electric, often requiring 220 volt charging. Though the vehicle manufacturers and charging station manufacturers have provided consumers options for charging preferences, there are no existing communications between consumers and the utilities to manage the charging demand. There is also wide variation between manufacturers in their approach to support vehicle charging. There are in-vehicle networks, charging station networks, utility networks each using either cellular, Wi-Fi, ZigBee or other proprietary communication technology with no standards currently available for interoperability. The current situation of ad-hoc solutions is a major barrier to the wide adoption of electric vehicles. SAE, the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC), ANSI, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and several industrial organizations are working towards the development of interoperability standards. PNNL has participated in the development and testing of these standards in an effort to accelerate the adoption and development of communication modules.

action. Much work needs to be accomplished to enhance nuclear preparedness and to substantially bolster and clarify the capacity to deploy competent resources. Until detailed plans are scripted, and personnel and other resources are postured, and exercised, IND specific planning remains an urgent need requiring attention and action. Although strategic guidance, policies, concepts of operations, roles, responsibilities, and plans governing the response and consequence management for the IND scenario exist, an ongoing integration challenge prevails regarding how best to get capable and competent surge capacity personnel (disaster reservists) and other resources engaged and readied in an up-front manner with pre-scripted assignments to augment the magnitude of anticipated demands of expertise. With the above in mind, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) puts science to work to create and deploy practical, high-value, cost-effective nuclear solutions. As the Department of Energy's (DOE) applied research and development laboratory, SRNL supports Savannah River Site (SRS) operations, DOE, national initiatives, and other federal agencies, across the country and around the world. SRNL's parent at SRS also employs more than 8,000 personnel. The team is a great asset that seeks to continue their service in the interest of national security and stands ready to accomplish new missions. Overall, an integral part of the vision for SRNL's National and Homeland Security Directorate is the establishment of a National Security Center at SRNL, and development of state of the science capabilities (technologies and trained technical personnel) for responding to emergency events on local, regional, or national scales. This entails leveraging and posturing the skills, knowledge and experience base of SRS personnel to deliver an integrated capability to support local, state, and federal authorities through the development of pre-scripted requests for assistance, agreements, and plans. It

Our multidisciplinary research team for this project involved collaboration between the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC). Our research team in Wisconsin was led by Laura Roberts, M.D., Principal Investigator, and included Scott Helberg, MLS (Project Coordinator), Kate Green Hammond, Ph.D. (Consultant), Krisy Edenharder (Research Coordinator), and Mark Talatzko (Research Assistant). Our New Mexico-based team was led by Teddy Warner, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator and UNM Site Principal Investigator, and included Suzanne Roybal (Project Assistant), Darlyn Mabon (Project Assistant), Kate Green Hammond, PhD (Senior Research Scientist on the UNM team from 2004 until January, 2007), and Paulette Christopher (Research Assistant). In addition, computer technical and web support for the web-based survey conducted on a secure server at the University of New Mexico was provided by Kevin Wiley and Kim Hagen of the Systems and Programming Team of the Health Sciences Center Library and Information Center. We stated 3 aims in the grant proposal: (1) To collect web survey reports of the ethical perspectives, concerns, preferences and decision-making related to genetic testing using surveys from employees at: (a) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); (b) Sandia National Laboratories (SNL); and (c) the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC); (2) To perform an extensive literature search and the extant survey data to develop evidence-based policy recommendations for ethically sound genetic testing associated with research and occupational health activities in the workplace; and, (3) To host a conference at the Medical College of Wisconsin to provide employers, workers, health professionals, researchers, the public, and the media an opportunity to consider ethical issues involved in genetic

The palladium membrane reactor (PMR) is being investigated as a means for recovering hydrogen isotopes (including tritium) from compounds such as water and methane. Previous work with protiated water and methane showed that this device can be used to obtain high hydrogen recovery efficiencies using a single processing pass and with essentially no waste production. With these successful proof-of-principle results completed, recent work has focused on PMR development. This included studies of various geometries and testing with tritium. The results, which are reported here, have led to a better understanding of the PMR and will lead to the ultimate goal of building a production PMR and putting it into practical tritium processing service. 3 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

In methanol-fueled diesel engines, the crankcase lubricant is used to lubricate both the engine and the fuel injector system. Crankcase lubricants including some designed for methanol-fueled engines are not completely compatible with the methanol fuel. In order to test the effect of methanol extraction on diesel engine lubricant performance, two extraction protocols were developed: one to simulate the fuel injector (1000 parts of methanol to one part of lubricant) and the other to simulate an extreme case of methanol contamination in the crank-case (one part of methanol to five parts of lubricant). The extracted samples of the lubricant were stripped to remove the methanol. The samples were then evaluated for changes in oxidative stability and lubricity. 12 refs., 3 figs., 8 tabs.

The research and development effort of a new kind of combustion engine is presented. The engine is designed to convert the thrust from ramjet modules into shaft torque, which in turn can be used for electrical power generation or mechanical drive applications. An aggressive test program was undertaken that included evaluation of the existing engine, as well as incorporation of novel improvements to the thrust modules and supporting systems. Fuel mixing studies with Vortex Generators and bluff body flame holders illuminated the importance of increasing the shear-layer area and spreading angle to augment flame volume. Evaluation of flame-holding configurations (with variable fuel injection methods) concluded that the heat release zone, and therefore combustion efficiency, could be manipulated by judicious selection of bluff body geometry, and is less influenced by fuel injection distribution. Air film cooling studies demonstrated that acceptable combustor life could be achieved with optimized air film distribution patterns and thermal barrier coatings.

The international fusion community has designed a miniature torsion specimen for neutron irradiation studies of joined SiC and SiC/SiC composite materials. Miniature torsion joints based on this specimen design were fabricated using displacement reactions between Si and TiC to produce Ti3SiC2 + SiC joints with CVD-SiC and tested in torsion-shear prior to and after neutron irradiation. However, many of these miniature torsion specimens fail out-of-plane within the CVD-SiC specimen body, which makes it problematic to assign a shear strength value to the joints and makes it difficult to compare unirradiated and irradiated joint strengths to determine the effects of the irradiation. Finite element elastic damage and elastic-plastic damage models of miniature torsion joints are developed that indicate shear fracture is likely to occur within the body of the joined sample and cause out-of-plane failures for miniature torsion specimens when a certain modulus and strength ratio between the joint material and the joined material exists. The model results are compared and discussed with regard to unirradiated and irradiated joint test data for a variety of joint materials. The unirradiated data includes Ti3SiC2 + SiC/CVD-SiC joints with tailored joint moduli, and includes steel/epoxy and CVD-SiC/epoxy joints. The implications for joint data based on this sample design are discussed.

We have constructed and tested a small device to produce ice in ice/water mixtures using a cold fluid as the heat sink. The device is a flexible heat exchanger constructed from a thin film of a suitable polymer. When filled with circulating liquid coolant the heat exchanger consists of an inflated series of parallel tubes; ice forms on the outside in complementary half cylinders. When the circulation is cut off, gravity drains the coolant and the static head of the water bath crushes the tubes, freeing them from the ice which floats to the surface. Brine circulation is then re-started and the cycle begins again. Here we report recent testing of this device: it makes ice readily under water and easily sheds the semi-cylinders of ice over many cycles of operation. It produces ice at a rate of 10 kg/m{sup 2}-hour. It offers substantial benefits in simplicity and reliability over mechanical harvester ice making systems, and the potential for significant improvements in energy efficiency compared to systems which use a re-heat cycle to harvest the ice. A reliable method of leak detection has been developed. The device should be of substantial value to systems where efficiency and reliability are at a premium, such as slush ice for district cooling.

The objective of this project was the development of a 230 kV high-pressure gas-filled (HPGF) pipe-type cable employing paper or laminate of paper-polypropylene-paper (PPP) insulation pressurized with N{sub 2} gas or a blend of 15% SF{sub 6}/85% N{sub 2} gas. Heretofore, HPGF pipe-type cables have been restricted to 138 kV ratings due to technical difficulties in achieving higher voltage ratings. In view of the high cost of manufacturing and testing a large number of full size cables, cable models with 2 mm (80 mils) and 2.5 mm (100 mils) wall thicknesses of insulation enclosed in a test fixture capable of withstanding a test pressure of 2070 kPa (300 psig) and high electrical stresses were employed for dissipation factor versus voltage measurements and for ac and impulse breakdown tests at rated and emergency operating temperatures. In addition, a 36 cm (14 in) full wall cable model enclosed in a pressure vessel was utilized for transient pressure response tests. The results of this investigation attest tot he technical feasibility of the design and manufacture of a 230 kV HPGF pipe-type cable employing paper or PPP insulation pressurized with 100% N{sub 2} gas or a blend of 15% SF{sub 6}/85% N{sub 2} gas for operation under normal and 100 hour emergency conditions at conductor temperatures of 85{degree} and 105{degree}C, respectively. The manufacture of a full size PPP insulated cable pressurized with a blend of 15% SF{sub 6}/85% N{sub 2} gas employing pre-impregnated PPP insulating tapes and an annular conductor based on the design stresses defined in this report is recommended for laboratory evaluation and extended life tests. 11 refs., 45 figs., 11 tabs.

In June 1993, a proposal was presented to the International Environmental Institute (IEI) in Kennewick, Washington, to establish cooperation and coordination to further pursue the interests of the United States of America and the Republic of Russia in the application and promotion of environmental technology; characterization, treatment, handling, isolation, and disposal of hazardous and radioactive materials; conversion of defense sites to other purposes; and technology transfer, cooperative programs, joint technology development and contractual research. In response to this proposal, IEI and Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) jointly provided funding to send Dr. Dennis W. Wester on a fact-finding mission to Novosibirsk, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The trip covered a period of eight weeks, six of which were spent in Novosibirsk and adjoining or related cities and one of which was spent in each of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The general objectives of the trip were to establish a basis for cooperation between IEI and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) for future coordination of mutual interests and objectives such as technology acquisition, development, demonstration, application, and commercialization; use of capabilities and assets developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the RAS; and expediting of cooperative agreements, personnel exchanges, joint ventures and other contractual relationships. The particular objectives of this trip were to evaluate the capabilities of the RAS to satisfy the technology needs associated with the cleanup of the Hanford Site and similar sites in the U.S. and to evaluate the expediency of establishing an IEI presence in Russia.

This annual report of the Site-Directed Research and Development (SDRD) program represents the highly significant R&D accomplishments conducted during fiscal year 2010. This year was noteworthy historically, as the Nevada Test Site was renamed to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). This change not only recognizes how the site's mission has evolved, but also heralds a future of new challenges and opportunities for the NNSS. In many ways, since its inception in 2002, the SDRD program has helped shape that evolving mission. As we approach 2012, SDRD will also mark a milestone, having completed its first full decade of innovative R&D in support of the site and national security. The program continues to fund advanced science and technology development across traditional Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear security areas such as stockpile stewardship and non-proliferation while also supporting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs, and specialized work for government agencies like the Department of Defense (DoD) and others. The NNSS will also contribute technologies in the areas of treaty verification and monitoring, two areas of increasing importance to national security. Keyed to the NNSS's broadened scope, the SDRD program will continue to anticipate and advance R&D projects that will help the NNSS meet forthcoming challenges.

A new method for sealing casing is under research and development by Nu-Bore Systems. The method involves internally lining a section of the wellbore with a multi-layer spiral wrapping of a high strength, corrosion resistant metal interleaved with a high bond strength, resilient epoxy. The high strength metal is preferably a copper based alloy hardened to a very high strength in order to resist the internal and external pressures of downhole environments. The epoxy adhesive formulation is one that forms a bond between the steel inner wall of the casing and copper alloy strip. The copper alloy strip spiral wraps are interleaved with epoxy, and the whole system provides a high level of outward directed spring force and, thus, resists both internal and externally directed forces. In this report, the cost savings to the nation's energy program was estimated to be in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, and the method was judged technically feasible once certain well defined engineering obstacles are Overcome. The objective of this program is to develop a joint between packer segments that is easily assembled before lowering downhole and easily disassembled after the sealing job is done. In addition, this tool joint must expand uniformly as though it were a part of the rubber and must not fail under the relatively high pressure of the epoxy cure cycle. The overall goal of the work was to design, build, develop, and test a spiral tool and packer into a single universal tool that can repair casings with diameters varying from 4.5 to 7 inches.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is currently developing a Centrifugal Downhole Separator (CDHS) which will extend the application of remotely operated separations equipment developed for the nuclear industry to in-well recovery of oil with in-situ recycle of the produced water. These units have been successfully used for surface treatment of produced water and wastewater generated during environmental clean-up operations. Performance data has shown that centrifugal units are capable of separating stable emulsions into ``single-phase`` streams with generally less than 1% cross-phase contamination. Initial testing will be conducted with a bench-scale separator to determine the separation efficiency of various crude oils and to provide information necessary to scale up the separator. Information from the bench-scale unit will be used in the design of a larger prototype, which will have a much larger height/diameter ratio and will incorporate some of the components necessary for down-hole operations. The prototype separator will be operated in the lab to verify scale-up parameters and separation efficiencies, as well as to provide information necessary to design a full-scale system. The full-scale system will be fabricated, installed in the field, and operated to demonstrate the technology. This paper discusses the initial testing of the bench-scale separator with a crude oil having an API gravity of 34.06{degrees}.

Energy (February 2014) Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (February 2014) The Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2) was derived from the Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (ES-C2M2) Version 1.1 by removing sector-specific references and terminology. The ES-C2M2 was developed in support of a White House initiative led by the Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and in collaboration with private- and

An experimental test plan has been prepared for DOE/METC review and approval to develop a filter media suitable for multi-contaminant control in granular-bed filter (GBF) applications. The plan includes identification, development, and demonstration of methods for enhanced media morphology, chemical reactivity, and mechanical strength. The test plan includes media preparation methods, physical and chemical characterization methods for fresh and reacted media, media evaluation criteria, details of test and analytical equipment, and test matrix of the proposed media testing. A filter media composed of agglomerated limestone and clay was determined to be the best candidate for multi-contaminate control in GBF operation. The combined limestone/clay agglomerate has the potential to remove sulfur and alkali species, in addition to particulate, and possibly halogens and trace heavy metals from coal process streams.

The US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for developing the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) to accept spent nuclear fuel from commercial facilities. The objective of the Facility Interface Capability Assessment (FICA) project was to assess the capability of each commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage facility, at which SNF is stored, to handle various SNF shipping casks. The purpose of this report is describe the FICA computer software and to provide the FICA user with a guide on how to use the FICA system. The FICA computer software consists of two executable programs: the FICA Reactor Report program and the FICA Summary Report program (written in the Ca-Clipper version 5.2 development system). The complete FICA software system is contained on either a 3.5 in. (double density) or a 5.25 in. (high density) diskette and consists of the two FICA programs and all the database files (generated using dBASE III). The FICA programs are provided as ``stand alone`` systems and neither the Ca-Clipper compiler nor dBASE III is required to run the FICA programs. The steps for installing the FICA software system and executing the FICA programs are described in this report. Instructions are given on how to install the FICA software system onto the hard drive of the PC and how to execute the FICA programs from the FICA subdirectory on the hard drive. Both FICA programs are menu driven with the up-arrow and down-arrow keys used to move the cursor to the desired selection.

Federal Technical Capability Program (FTCP) Federal Technical Capability Program (FTCP) Vision For DOE to be a technically proficient enterprise, with federal technical personnel overseeing Defense Nuclear Facilities in a manner that enables and enhances the DOE mission in a technically defensible fashion, while being recognized as preeminent in federal technical leadership and competency. Missions and Functions The Department of Energy is committed to developing and maintaining a technically

9: Enabling Capabilities for Science and Energy September 2015 Quadrennial Technology Review 9 Enabling Capabilities for Science and Energy Tools for Scientific Discovery and Technology Development ïź Investment in basic science research is expanding our understanding of how structure leads to function-from the atomic- and nanoscale to the mesoscale and beyond-in natural systems, and is enabling a transformation from observation to control and design of new systems with properties tailored to

This paper briefly describes the Large Leak Test Rig after its conversion for the second series program to test internals typical of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor steam generator. The test article instrumentation provided and the data gathered are described. An explanation of the phenomena observed is discussed. The Series II tests are dedicated to investigating intermediate-to-large sodium-water reaction (SWR) and nonreactive events (nitrogen-sodium). The first two tests were double-ended guillotine (DEG) nonreactive tests utilizing single and double rupture disks for sodium containment to investigate pure hydraulic effects. The third test was locatd in about the same location as the other two and was a SWR DEG test. 9 refs.

consistent combustion in the 6 cylinders. The engine will then be tested for 1000 hours to demonstrate durability. This paper presents intermediate progress towards development of an HCCI engine for stationary power generation and next steps towards achieving the project goals.

The high pressure water jet nozzle tests were conducted to identify optimum water pressure, water flow rate, nozzle orifice size and fixture configuration needed to effectively decontaminate empty fuel storage canisters in KE-Basin. This report gives the tests results and recommendations from the these tests.

This paper discusses the implementation, capabilities, and validation of Shift, a massively parallel Monte Carlo radiation transport package developed and maintained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It has been developed to scale well from laptop to small computing clusters to advanced supercomputers. Special features of Shift include hybrid capabilities for variance reduction such as CADIS and FW-CADIS, and advanced parallel decomposition and tally methods optimized for scalability on supercomputing architectures. Shift has been validated and verified against various reactor physics benchmarks and compares well to other state-of-the-art Monte Carlo radiation transport codes such as MCNP5, CE KENO-VI, and OpenMC. SomemoreÂ Â» specific benchmarks used for verification and validation include the CASL VERA criticality test suite and several Westinghouse AP1000Âź problems. These benchmark and scaling studies show promising results.Â«Â less

This paper discusses the implementation, capabilities, and validation of Shift, a massively parallel Monte Carlo radiation transport package developed and maintained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It has been developed to scale well from laptop to small computing clusters to advanced supercomputers. Special features of Shift include hybrid capabilities for variance reduction such as CADIS and FW-CADIS, and advanced parallel decomposition and tally methods optimized for scalability on supercomputing architectures. Shift has been validated and verified against various reactor physics benchmarks and compares well to other state-of-the-art Monte Carlo radiation transport codes such as MCNP5, CE KENO-VI, and OpenMC. Some specific benchmarks used for verification and validation include the CASL VERA criticality test suite and several Westinghouse AP1000Âź problems. These benchmark and scaling studies show promising results.

This work discusses the implementation, capabilities, and validation of Shift, a massively parallel Monte Carlo radiation transport package developed and maintained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It has been developed to scale well from laptop to small computing clusters to advanced supercomputers. Special features of Shift include hybrid capabilities for variance reduction such as CADIS and FW-CADIS, and advanced parallel decomposition and tally methods optimized for scalability on supercomputing architectures. Shift has been validated and verified against various reactor physics benchmarks and compares well to other state-of-the-art Monte Carlo radiation transport codes such as MCNP5, CE KENO-VI, and OpenMC. Somemore »specific benchmarks used for verification and validation include the CASL VERA criticality test suite and several Westinghouse AP1000 R problems. These benchmark and scaling studies show promising results.« less

The aim of this new project is to develop an aerosol/cloud microphysics parameterization of mixed-phase stratus and boundary layer clouds. Our approach is to create, test, and implement a bulk-microphysics/aerosol model using data from Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) sites and large-eddy simulation (LES) explicit bin-resolving aerosol/microphysics models. The primary objectives of this work are twofold. First, we need the prediction of number concentrations of activated aerosol which are transferred to the droplet spectrum, so that the aerosol population directly affects the cloud formation and microphysics. Second, we plan to couple the aerosol model to the gas and aqueous-chemistry module that will drive the aerosol formation and growth. We begin by exploring the feasibility of performing cloud-resolving simulations of Arctic stratus clouds over the North Slope CART site. These simulations using Colorado State University`s regional atmospheric modeling system (RAMS) will be useful in designing the structure of the cloud-resolving model and in interpreting data acquired at the North Slope site.

On-line monitoring and tracking of nuclear plant system and component degradation is being investigated as a method for improving the safety, reliability, and maintainability of aging nuclear power plants. Accurate prediction of the current degradation state of system components and structures is important for accurate estimates of their remaining useful life (RUL). The correct quantification and propagation of both the measurement uncertainty and model uncertainty is necessary for quantifying the uncertainty of the RUL prediction. This research project developed and validated methods to perform RUL estimation throughout the lifecycle of plant components. Prognostic methods should seamlessly operate from beginning of component life (BOL) to end of component life (EOL). We term this "Lifecycle Prognostics." When a component is put into use, the only information available may be past failure times of similar components used in similar conditions, and the predicted failure distribution can be estimated with reliability methods such as Weibull Analysis (Type I Prognostics). As the component operates, it begins to degrade and consume its available life. This life consumption may be a function of system stresses, and the failure distribution should be updated to account for the system operational stress levels (Type II Prognostics). When degradation becomes apparent, this information can be used to again improve the RUL estimate (Type III Prognostics). This research focused on developing prognostics algorithms for the three types of prognostics, developing uncertainty quantification methods for each of the algorithms, and, most importantly, developing a framework using Bayesian methods to transition between prognostic model types and update failure distribution estimates as new information becomes available. The developed methods were then validated on a range of accelerated degradation test beds. The ultimate goal of prognostics is to provide an accurate assessment for

The regulations in 10 CFR 71 require that the radioactive material (RAM) packages must be able to withstand specific fire conditions given in 10 CFR 71.73 during Hypothetical Accident Conditions (HAC). This requirement is normally satisfied by extensive testing of full scale test specimens under required test conditions. Since fire test planning and execution is expensive and only provides a single snapshot into a package performance, every effort is made to minimize testing and supplement tests with results from computational thermal models. However, the accuracy of such thermal models depends heavily on the thermal properties of the fire insulating materials that are rarely available at the regulatory fire temperatures. To the best of authors knowledge no test standards exist that could be used to test the insulating materials and derive their thermal properties for the RAM package design. This paper presents a review of the existing industry fire testing standards and proposes testing methods that could serve as a standardized specification for testing fire insulating materials for use in RAM packages.

As the nuclear industry moves to advanced ceramic based materials for cladding and core structural materials for a variety of advanced reactors, new standards and test methods are required for material development and licensing purposes. For example, General Atomics (GA) is actively developing silicon carbide (SiC) based composite cladding (SiC-SiC) for its Energy Multiplier Module (EM2), a high efficiency gas cooled fast reactor. Through DOE funding via the advanced reactor concept program, GA developed a new test method for the nominal joint strength of an endplug sealed to advanced ceramic tubes, Fig. 1-1, at ambient and elevated temperatures called the endplug pushout (EPPO) test. This test utilizes widely available universal mechanical testers coupled with clam shell heaters, and specimen size is relatively small, making it a viable post irradiation test method. The culmination of this effort was a draft of an ASTM test standard that will be submitted for approval to the ASTM C28 ceramic committee. Once the standard has been vetted by the ceramics test community, an industry wide standard methodology to test joined tubular ceramic components will be available for the entire nuclear materials community.

The use of tax-free dyed fuel on public highways in the United States provides a convenient way of evading taxes. Current enforcement involves visual inspection for the red azo dye added to the fuel to designate its tax-free status. This approach has shortcomings such as the invasive nature of the tests and/or various deceptive tactics applied by tax evaders. A test designed to detect dyed fuel use by analyzing the exhaust would circumvent these shortcomings. This paper describes the development of a simple color spot test designed to detect the use of tax-free (dyed) diesel fuel by analyzing the engine exhaust. Development first investigated the combustion products of C.I. Solvent Red 164 (the azo dye formulation used in the United States to tag tax-free fuel). A variety of aryl amines were identified as characteristic molecular remnants that appear to survive combustion. A number of microanalytical color tests specific for aryl amines were then investigated. One test based on the use of 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde seemed particularly applicable and was used in a proof-of-principle experiment. The 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde color spot test was able to clearly distinguish between engines burning regular and dyed diesel fuel. Further development will refine this color spot test to provide an easy-to-use field test for Internal Revenue Service Field Compliance specialists.

The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has extensive field testingcapabilities that have been used in collaboration with the wind industry to accelerate wind technology development and deployment for more than 30 years.

The project objectives are to perform research, development, and pilot-scale testing of advanced, next-generation distribution operational strategies using ConEdison's 3G: Distribution System of the Future and associated infrastructure for the real-world Test Bed (demonstration network) combined with the Infotility GridAgents: Secure Agent Framework for Energy as the software platform for advanced operational strategies development. The objective is to accelerate high-payoff technologies that, because of their risk, are unlikely to be developed in a timely manner without a partnership between industry and the Federal government. NREL will be responsible for the evaluation of equipment design and control methods for DER integration and testing of prototype DER technologies and control equipment at the NREL test facility.

The software is a set of technologies developed by the SciDAC Institute for Ultrascale Visualization in order to address the visualization needs for petascale computing and beyond. These technologies include improved I/O performance, simulation co-processing, advanced rendering capabilities, and specialized visualization techniques developed for SciDAC applications.

Within the past 10--15 years, ceramic hardware has been fabricated and tested in a number of piston engine applications including valves, piston pins, roller followers, tappet shims, and other wear components. It has been shown that, with proper design and installation, ceramics improve performance, fuel economy, and wear and corrosion resistance. These results have been obtained using rig and road tests on both stock and race engines. Selected summaries of these tests are presented in this review paper.

A series of chemical explosions, called the Source Physics Experiments (SPE), is being conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energyâs National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to develop a new more physics-based paradigm for nuclear test monitoring. Currently, monitoring relies on semi-empirical models to discriminate explosions from earthquakes and to estimate key parameters such as yield. While these models have been highly successful monitoring established test sites, there is concern that future tests could occur in media and at scale depths of burial outside of our empirical experience. This is highlighted by North Korean tests, which exhibit poormoreÂ Â» performance of a reliable discriminant, mb:Ms (Selby et al., 2012), possibly due to source emplacement and differences in seismic responses for nascent and established test sites. The goal of SPE is to replace these semi-empirical relationships with numerical techniques grounded in a physical basis and thus applicable to any geologic setting or depth.Â«Â less

The Field Lysimeter Investigations: Low-Level Waste Data Base Development Program, funded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is (a) studying the degradation effects in EPICOR-II organic ion-exchange resins caused by radiation, (b) examining the adequacy of test procedures recommended in the Branch Technical Position on Waste Form to meet the requirements of 10 CFR 61 using solidified EPICOR-II resins, (c) obtaining performance information on solidified EPICOR-II ion-exchange resins in a disposal environment, and (d) determining the condition of EPICOR-II liners. Results of the first 4 years of data acquisition from the field testing are presented and discussed. During the continuing field testing, both Portland type I-II cement and Dow vinyl ester-styrene waste forms are being tested in lysimeter arrays located at Argonne National Laboratory-East in Illinois and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental equipment is described and results of waste form characterization using tests recommended by the NRC`s {open_quotes}Technical Position on Waste Form{close_quotes} are presented. The study is designed to provide continuous data on nuclide release and movement, as well as environmental conditions, over a 20-year period.

The Field Lysimeter Investigations: Low-Level Waste Data Base Development Program, funded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is (1) studying the degradation effects in EPICOR-II organic ion-exchange resins caused by radiation, (2) examining the adequacy of test procedures recommended in the Branch Technical Position on Waste Form to meet the requirements of 10 CFR 61 using solidified EPICOR-II resins, (3) obtaining performance information on solidified EPICOR-II ion-exchange resins in a disposal environment, and (4) determining the condition of EPICOR-II liners. Results of the final 2 (10 total) years of data acquisition from operation of the field testing are presented and discussed. During the continuing field testing, both portland type I-II cement and Dow vinyl ester-styrene waste forms are being tested in lysimeter arrays located at Argonne National Laboratory-East in Illinois and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental equipment is described and results of waste form characterization using tests recommended by the NRC`s {open_quotes}Technical Position on Waste Form{close_quotes} are presented. The study is designed to provide continuous data on nuclide release and movement, as well as environmental conditions, over a 20-year period. At the end of the tenth year, the experiment was closed down. Examination of soil and waste forms is planned to be conducted next and will be reported later.

The Field Lysimeter Investigations: Low-Level Waste Data Base Development Program, funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is (a) studying the degradation effects in EPICOR-II organic ion-exchange resins caused by radiation, (b) examining the adequacy of test procedures recommended in the Branch Technical Position on Waste Form to meet the requirements of 10 CFR 61 using solidified EPICOR-II resins, (c) obtaining performance information on solidified EPICOR-II ion-exchange resins in a disposal environment, and (d) determining the condition of EPICOR-II liners. Results of the second 4 years of data acquisition from the field testing are presented and discussed. During the continuing field testing, both portland type 1--2 cement and Dow vinyl ester-styrene waste forms are being tested in lysimeter arrays located at Argonne National Laboratory-East in Illinois and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental equipment is described and results of waste form characterization using tests recommended by the NRC`s ``Technical Position on Waste Form`` are presented. The study is designed to provide continuous data on nuclide release and movement, as well as environmental conditions, over a 20-year period.

The United States Department of Energy has prepared an Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-1300) (EA) which analyzes the potential environmental effects of developing operating and maintaining a commercial/industrial park in Area 22 of the Nevada Test Site, between Mercury Camp and U.S. Highway 95 and east of Desert Rock Airport. The EA evaluates the potential impacts of infrastructure improvements necessary to support fill build out of the 512-acre Desert Rock Sky Park. Two alternative actions were evaluated: (1) Develop, operate and maintain a commercial/industrial park in Area 22 of the Nevada Test Site, and (2) taking no action. The purpose and need for the commercial industrial park are addressed in Section 1.0 of the EA. A detailed description of the proposed action and alternatives is in section 2.0. Section 3.0 describes the affected environment. Section 4.0 the environmental consequences of the proposed action and alternative. Cumulative effects are addressed in Section 5.0. Mitigation measures are addressed in Section 6.0. The Department of Energy determined that the proposed action of developing, operating and maintaining a commercial/industrial park in Area 22 of the Nevada Test Site would best meet the needs of the agency.

M-C Power Corporation will design, fabricate, install, test and evaluate a 250 kW Proof-of-Concept Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) Power Plant. The plant is to be located at the Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. This report summarizes the technical progress that has occurred in conjunction with this project in 1994. M-C Power has completed the tape casting and sintering of cathodes and is proceeding with the tape casting and sintering of anodes for the first 250 cell stack. M-C Power and San Diego Gas and Electric relocated the fuel cell demonstration project to an alternate site at the Naval Air Station Miramar. For the new project location at the Naval Air Station Miramar, an Environmental Assessment has been prepared by the Department of Energy in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The Environmental Assessment resulted in a categorical exclusion of the proposed action from all environmental permit requirements. Bechtel Corporation has completed the reformer process design coordination, a Process Description, the Pipe and Instrumentation Diagrams, a Design Criteria Document and General Project Requirement Document. Bechtel developed the requirements for soils investigation report and issued the following equipment bid packages to the suppliers for bids: Inverter, Reformer, Desulfurization Vessels, Hot Gas Recycle Blower, Heat Recovery Steam Generator, and Recycle Gas Cooler. SDG and E has secured necessary site permits, conducted soils investigations, and is working on the construction plan. They are in final negotiations with the US Navy on a site agreement. Site drawings are required for finalization of the agreement.

High-level waste (HLW) feed preparation flowsheet development was initiated in fiscal year (FY) 1994 to evaluate alternative flowsheets for preparing melter feed for high-temperature melter (HTM) vitrification testing. Three flowsheets were proposed that might lead to increased processing capacity relative to the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) and that were flexible enough to use with other HLW melter technologies. This document describes the decision path that led to the selection of flowsheets to be tested in the FY 1994 small-scale HTM tests. Feed preparation flowsheet development for the HLW HTM was based on the feed preparation flowsheet that was developed for the HWVP. This approach allowed the HLW program to build upon the extensive feed preparation flowsheet database developed under the HWVP Project. Primary adjustments to the HWVP flowsheet were to the acid adjustment and glass component additions. Developmental background regarding the individual features of the HLW feed preparation flowsheets is provided. Applicability of the HWVP flowsheet features to the new HLW vitrification mission is discussed. The proposed flowsheets were tested at the laboratory-scale at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Based on the results of this testing and previously established criteria, a reductant-based flowsheet using glycolic acid and a nitric acid-based flowsheet were selected for the FY 1994 small-scale HTM testing.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is a science-based, applied engineering laboratory dedicated to supporting U.S. Department of Energy missions in nuclear and energy research, science, and national security. The INLâs Systems Engineering organization supports all of the various programs under this wide array of missions. As with any multifaceted organization, strategic planning is essential to establishing a consistent culture and a value discipline throughout all levels of the enterprise. While an organization can pursue operational excellence, product leadership or customer intimacy, it is extremely difficult to excel or achieve best-in-class at all three. In fact, trying to do so has resulted in the demise of a number of organizations given the very intricate balancing act that is necessary. The INLâs Systems Engineering Department has chosen to focus on customer intimacy where the customerâs needs are first and foremost and a more total solution is the goal. Frequently a total solution requires the employment of specialized tools to manage system complexity. However, it is only after understanding customer needs that tool selection and use would be pursued. This results in using both commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) tools and, in some cases, requires internal development of specialized tools. This paper describes how a unique systems engineering capability, through the development of customized tools, evolved as a result of this customer-focused culture. It also addresses the need for a common information model or analysis framework and presents an overview of the tools developed to manage and display relationships between entities, support trade studies through the application of utility theory, and facilitate the development of a technology roadmap to manage system risk and uncertainty.

Non-destructive testing (NDT), sometimes also known as non-destructive inspection (NDI) or non-destructive examination (NDE), has been applied to solve a wide range of science and industry problems including construction, aerospace, nuclear engineering, manufacturing, space exploration, art objects, forensic studies, biological and medical fields, etc. Without any permanent changing or alteration of testing objects, NDT methods provide great advantages such as increased testing reliability, efficiency, and safety, as well as reduced time and cost. Since the second half of the 20th century, NDT technology has seen significant growth. Depending on the physical properties being measured, NDT techniques can be classified into several branches. This article will provide a brief overview of commonly used NDT methods and their up-to-date progresses including optical examination, radiography, acoustic emission, ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing. For extended reviews on many presently used NDT methods, please refer to articles by Mullins [1, 2].

The Alden turbine was developed through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) former Advanced Hydro Turbine Systems Program (1994-2006) and, more recently, through the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the DOE's Wind & Water Power Program. The primary goal of the engineering study described here was to provide a commercially competitive turbine design that would yield fish passage survival rates comparable to or better than the survival rates of bypassing or spilling flow. Although the turbine design was performed for site conditions corresponding to 92 ft (28 m) net head and a discharge of 1500 cfs (42.5 cms), the design can be modified for additional sites with differing operating conditions. During the turbine development, design modifications were identified for the spiral case, distributor (stay vanes and wicket gates), runner, and draft tube to improve turbine performance while maintaining features for high fish passage survival. Computational results for pressure change rates and shear within the runner passage were similar in the original and final turbine geometries, while predicted minimum pressures were higher for the final turbine. The final turbine geometry and resulting flow environments are expected to further enhance the fish passage characteristics of the turbine. Computational results for the final design were shown to improve turbine efficiencies by over 6% at the selected operating condition when compared to the original concept. Prior to the release of the hydraulic components for model fabrication, finite element analysis calculations were conducted for the stay vanes, wicket gates, and runner to verify that structural design criteria for stress and deflections were met. A physical model of the turbine was manufactured and tested with data collected for power and efficiency, cavitation limits, runaway speed, axial and radial thrust, pressure pulsations, and wicket gate torque. All parameters were observed to fall within ranges

advanced radiographic capability ARC will make tiny "movies" of thermonuclear and stockpile experiments The National Ignition Facility's (NIF) performed the first programmatic experiments with Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) on December 1-3, 2015. ARC, a petawatt-class laser with peak power that will exceed a quadrillion watts, is designed to produce brighter, more penetrating, higher-energy

In the third quarter of calendar year 1997, 10 days of tests on the 20 MMBtu/hr combustor-boiler facility were performed. The total test days on the Philadelphia facility to the end of September 1997 was 93, of which 19 tests were implemented as part of another DOE project. This exceeds the planned 63 test days for this project. Key project objectives have been exceeded, including NO emissions as low as 0.07 lb/MMBtu and SO emissions as low as 0.2 x 2 lb/MMBtu. The tests in the present quarter focussed on further optimizing post-combustion sorbent injection for SO2 and NOx control processes. The results were in the same range as in previous tests. In addition, initial tests of Coal Tech?s post-combustion NOx control process were implemented on a 100 MW and a 37 MW utility boiler, and NOx reductions as high as 40% were measured in the latter boiler.

On February 3, 1994, IMPCO Technologies, Inc. started the development of a dedicated LPG Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) under contract to the Midwest Research Institute National Renewable Energy Laboratory Division (NREL). The objective was to develop a dedicated propane vehicle that would meet or exceed the California ULEV emissions standards. The project is broken into four phases to be performed over a two year period. The four phases of the project include: (Phase 1) system design, (Phase 2) prototype hardware assembly and testing, (Phase 3) full-scale systems testing and integration, (Phase 4) vehicle demonstration. This report describes the approach taken for the development of the vehicle and the work performed through the completion of Phase II dynamometer test results. Work was started on Phase 2 (Hardware Assembly and Prototype Testing) in May 1994 prior to completion of Phase 1 to ensure that long lead items would be available in a timely fashion for the Phase 2 work. In addition, the construction and testing of the interim electronic control module (ECM), which was used to test components, was begun prior to the formal start of Phase 2. This was done so that the shortened revised schedule for the project (24 months) could be met. In this report, a brief summary of the activities of each combined Phase 1 and 2 tasks will be presented, as well as project management activities. A technical review of the system is also given, along with test results and analysis. During the course of Phase 2 activities, IMPCO staff also had the opportunity to conduct cold start performance tests of the injectors. The additional test data was most positive and will be briefly summarized in this report.

Tidal energy represents potential for the generation of renewable, emission free, environmentally benign, and cost effective energy from tidal flows. A successful tidal energy demonstration project in Puget Sound, Washington may enable significant commercial development resulting in important benefits for the northwest region and the nation. This project promoted the United States Department of EnergyĂÂąĂÂĂÂs Wind and Hydropower Technologies ProgramĂÂąĂÂĂÂs goals of advancing the commercial viability, cost-competitiveness, and market acceptance of marine hydrokinetic systems. The objective of the Puget Sound Tidal Energy Demonstration Project is to conduct in-water testing and evaluation of tidal energy technology as a first step toward potential construction of a commercial-scale tidal energy power plant. The specific goal of the project phase covered by this award was to conduct all activities necessary to complete engineering design and obtain construction approvals for a pilot demonstration plant in the Admiralty Inlet region of the Puget Sound. Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County (The District) accomplished the objectives of this award through four tasks: Detailed Admiralty Inlet Site Studies, Plant Design and Construction Planning, Environmental and Regulatory Activities, and Management and Reporting. Pre-Installation studies completed under this award provided invaluable data used for site selection, environmental evaluation and permitting, plant design, and construction planning. However, these data gathering efforts are not only important to the Admiralty Inlet pilot project. Lessons learned, in particular environmental data gathering methods, can be applied to future tidal energy projects in the United States and other parts of the world. The District collaborated extensively with project stakeholders to complete the tasks for this award. This included Federal, State, and local government agencies, tribal governments, environmental

This Test Plan for the High Burnup Dry Storage Research Project (HDRP) outlines the data to be collected, the high burnup fuel to be included, and the storage system design, procedures, and licensing necessary for implementation.

Analysis of the capabilities of the State Corporation Rosatom enterprises on the development and production of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment for nuclear medicine centers is presented. Prospects of the development of accelerator equipment for the production of a wide range of radioisotope products are shown, and the trends of its development are determined. A comparative analysis of the technical parameters of domestic tomographs and devices for brachytherapy with foreign counterparts is given.

Cloud and Aerosol Characterization for the ARM Central Facility: Multiple Remote Sensor Techniques Development K. Sassen Department of Meteorology University of Utah Salt lake City, UT 84112 overcome the poor data-handling capabilities that handi- capped multiple-channellidar studies in the past. The true diversity of transmitted and received polarization states of our system is illustrated at the bottom of Table 1. Note that the first full POL field tests will be made at the upcoming 1991

An overview of the DOE nuclear weapons research, development, and testing program is given along with a description of the program objectives and the roles and responsibilities of the various involved organizations. The relationship between the DoD and DOE is described and the division of responsibilities for weapon development as well as the coordinated planning and acquisition activities are reviewed. Execution of the RD T program at the nuclear weapons laboratories is outlined. 24 refs., 3 figs.

A 30-kVA Trace Technologies hybrid power processor was specified and tested at the Sandia inverter test facility. Trace Technologies involving the control system, in response to suggestions made modifications, primarily by Sandia and Arizona Public Service (APS) personnel. The modifications should make the inverter more universally applicable and less site-specific so that it can be applied in various sites with minimal field interaction required from the design engineer. The project emphasized the importance of battery management, generator selection, and site load management to the performance and reliability of hybrid power systems.

We present a software environment integrating analysis and test-based models to support optimal modal test design through a Virtual Environment for Test Optimization (VETO). A goal in developing this software tool is to provide test and analysis organizations with a capability of mathematically simulating the complete test environment in software. Derived models of test equipment, instrumentation and hardware can be combined within the VETO to provide the user with a unique analysis and visualization capability to evaluate new and existing test methods. The VETO assists analysis and test engineers in maximizing the value of each modal test. It is particularly advantageous for structural dynamics model reconciliation applications. The VETO enables an engineer to interact with a finite element model of a test object to optimally place sensors and exciters and to investigate the selection of data acquisition parameters needed to conduct a complete modal survey. Additionally, the user can evaluate the use of different types of instrumentation such as filters, amplifiers and transducers for which models are available in the VETO. The dynamic response of most of the virtual instruments (including the device under test) is modeled in the state space domain. Design of modal excitation levels and appropriate test instrumentation are facilitated by the VETO`s ability to simulate such features as unmeasured external inputs, A/D quantization effects, and electronic noise. Measures of the quality of the experimental design, including the Modal Assurance Criterion, and the Normal Mode Indicator Function are available.

The oil-water monitor is a device invented by Dr. Claude Swanson of Applied Physics Technology to respond to the petroleum-loss problem in crude oil transfers. It is a device which measures water content in crude oil and other petroleum products, in a flowing pipe such as a pipeline or tanker manifold. It is capable of accurately measuring the water contamination levels in crude oil shipments, in real time as the crude oil flows through the loading manifold into the tanker, or at the receiving point as the oil is off-loaded. The oil-water monitor has application in the verification of oil volumes and concentration of contaminants at petroleum transfer points. The industry-estimated level of water loss at transfer points due to inadequate monitoring technology amounts to several billion dollars per year, so there is a definite perceived need within the petroleum community for this type of accurate water monitoring technology. News articles indicating the importance of this problem are shown. The microwave oil-water monitor measures the water content in the oil, whether in the form of small droplets or large globules. Therefore it can be applied to the crude oil as it flows through crude oil pipes into the ship, or at transfer points in a crude oil distribution system. 4 refs., 18 figs.

The GPHS-RTG will provide electrical power for the Galileo orbiter and for the two spacecraft of the International Solar Polar Mission. The GPHS-RTG consists of two primary assemblies: the General Purpose Heat Source, and the converter. This paper deals only with the converter, and highlights engineering tests that provide support for its design development.

This brochure describes the high-priority R&D that is being pursued in the DOE Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) R&D Program and how it will support effective CTBT monitoring. Monitoring challenges, sensor systems, signal analysis, resolution of ambiguities, and the timeline for CTBT history and program milestones are covered.

Extrapolation of accelerated testing to the long-term results expected in the field has uncertainty associated with the acceleration factors and the range of possible stresses in the field. When multiple stresses (such as temperature and humidity) can be used to increase the acceleration, the uncertainty may be reduced according to which stress factors are used to accelerate the degradation.

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), the largest such facility in the U.S., is discussed with respect to instrumentation in general and mechanisms in particular. The design philosophy and detailed implementation of a universal probe mechanism for TFTR is discussed.

This report describes a second generation pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) power plant. The topping combustor testing is briefly described. The topping combustor burns low BTU gas produced from substoichiometric combustion of coal in a pressurized carbonizer. Char produced is burned in a PFBC.

This report describes a second generation pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) power plant. The topping combustor testing is briefly described. The topping combustor burns low BTU gas produced from substoichiometric combustion of coal in a pressurized carbonizer. Char produced is burned in a PFBC.

IBM Probes Material Capabilities at the ALS IBM Probes Material Capabilities at the ALS Print Wednesday, 12 February 2014 11:05 Vanadium dioxide, one of the few known materials that acts like an insulator at low temperatures but like a metal at warmer temperatures, is a somewhat futuristic material that could yield faster and much more energy-efficient electronic devices. Researchers from IBM's forward-thinking Spintronic Science and Applications Center (SpinAps) recently used the ALS to gain

Enabling Capabilities Leveraging biology and engineering for new solutions Sandia's ability to form and optimize multidisciplinary teams is a key enabler behind many of our high-impact solutions to the nation's most pressing security challenges. In keeping with this tradition, Sandia bioscientists work closely with experts in other science and engineering fields to enlarge capabilities for biological exploration. Drawing on their combined knowledge and ideas, teams work to translate their

IBM Probes Material Capabilities at the ALS IBM Probes Material Capabilities at the ALS Print Wednesday, 12 February 2014 11:05 Vanadium dioxide, one of the few known materials that acts like an insulator at low temperatures but like a metal at warmer temperatures, is a somewhat futuristic material that could yield faster and much more energy-efficient electronic devices. Researchers from IBM's forward-thinking Spintronic Science and Applications Center (SpinAps) recently used the ALS to gain

Attend this webinar to hear from U.S. Department of Energy Fossil Energy Program staff about the Programâs oil and gas portfolio, technologies, and research capabilities that may be of interest to Tribes and tribal energy resource development organizations.

The Concentrating Solar Technologies Organization at Sandia National Laboratories has a long history of performing important research, development, and testing that has enabled the Concentrating Solar Power Industry to deploy full-scale power plants. Sandia continues to pursue innovative CSP concepts with the goal of reducing the cost of CSP while improving efficiency and performance. In this pursuit, Sandia has developed many tools for the analysis of CSP performance. The following capabilities document highlights Sandia's extensive experience in the design, construction, and utilization of large-scale testing facilities for CSP and the tools that Sandia has created for the full characterization of heliostats. Sandia has extensive experience in using these tools to evaluate the performance of novel heliostat designs.

The purpose of this document is to describe the Paciflc Northwest National Laboratory`s (the Laboratory) capabilities in characterization and unit process and system testing that are available to support Hanford tank waste processing. This document is organized into two parts. The first section discusses the Laboratory`s extensive experience in solving the difficult problems associated with the characterization of Hanford tank wastes, vitrified radioactive wastes, and other very highly radioactive and/or heterogeneous materials. The second section of this document discusses the Laboratory`s radioactive capabilities and facilities for separations and waste form preparation/testing that can be used to Support Hanford tank waste processing design and operations.

PHISICS is a neutronic code system currently under development at INL. Its goal is to provide state of the art simulation capability to reactor designers. This paper reports on the effort of coupling this package to the thermal hydraulic system code RELAP5. This will enable full prismatic core and system modeling and the possibility to model coupled (thermal-hydraulics and neutronics) problems with more options for 3D neutron kinetics, compared to the existing diffusion theory neutron kinetics module in RELAP5 (NESTLE). The paper describes the capabilities of the coupling and illustrates them with a set of sample problems. (authors)

Ultrasonic inspection of dissimilar metal (DM) welds in piping with cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS) has been an area ongoing research for many years given its prevalence in the petrochemical and nuclear industries. A typical inspection strategy for pipe welds is to use an ultrasonic phased array system to scan the weld from a sensor located on the outer surface of the pipe. These inspection systems generally refract either longitudinal or shear vertical (SV) waves at varying angles to inspect the weld radially. In DM welds, however, the welding process can produce a columnar grain structure in the CASS material in a specific orientation. This columnar grain structure can skew ultrasonic waves away from their intended path, especially for SV and longitudinal wave modes. Studies have shown that inspection using the shear horizontal (SH) wave mode significantly reduces the effect of skewing. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are known to be effective for producing SH waves in field settings. This paper presents an inspection strategy that seeks to reproduce the scanning and imaging capabilities of a commercial phase array system using EMATs. A custom-built EMAT was used to collect data at multiple propagation angles, and a processing strategy known as the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) was used to combine the data to produce an image. Results are shown using this pseudo phased array technique to inspect samples with a DM weld and artificial defects, demonstrating the potential of this approach in a laboratory setting. Recommendations for future work to transition the technique to the field are also provided.

The U.S. DOE sponsored research investigating atmospheric infrasound as a means of detecting both atmospheric and underground nuclear tests. Various detection schemes were examined and were found to be effective for different situations. It has been discovered that an enhanced sensitivity is realizable for the very lowest frequency disturbances by detecting the infrasound at the top of the atmosphere using radio sound techniques. These techniques are compared to more traditional measurement schemes.

Radiation-tolerant, high speed, high density and low power commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are planned to be used in the upgrade to the Liquid Argon (LAr) calorimeter front end (FE) trigger readout electronics. Total ionization dose (TID) and single event effect (SEE) are two important radiation effects which need to be characterized on COTS ADCs. In our initial TID test, Texas Instruments (TI) ADS5272 was identified to be the top performer after screening a total 17 COTS ADCs from different manufacturers with dynamic range and sampling rate meeting the requirements of the FE electronics. Another interesting feature of ADS5272 is its 6.5 clock cycles latency, which is the shortest among the 17 candidates. Based on the TID performance, we have designed a SEE evaluation system for ADS5272, which allows us to further assess its radiation tolerance. In this paper, we present a detailed design of ADS5272 SEE evaluation system and show the effectiveness of this system while evaluating ADS5272 SEE characteristics in multiple irradiation tests. According to TID and SEE test results, ADS5272 was chosen to be implemented in the full-size LAr Trigger Digitizer Board (LTDB) demonstrator, which will be installed on ATLAS calorimeter during the 2014 Long Shutdown 1 (LS1).

Radiation-tolerant, high speed, high density and low power commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are planned to be used in the upgrade to the Liquid Argon (LAr) calorimeter front end (FE) trigger readout electronics. Total ionization dose (TID) and single event effect (SEE) are two important radiation effects which need to be characterized on COTS ADCs. In our initial TID test, Texas Instruments (TI) ADS5272 was identified to be the top performer after screening a total 17 COTS ADCs from different manufacturers with dynamic range and sampling rate meeting the requirements of the FE electronics. Another interesting feature of ADS5272moreÂ Â» is its 6.5 clock cycles latency, which is the shortest among the 17 candidates. Based on the TID performance, we have designed a SEE evaluation system for ADS5272, which allows us to further assess its radiation tolerance. In this paper, we present a detailed design of ADS5272 SEE evaluation system and show the effectiveness of this system while evaluating ADS5272 SEE characteristics in multiple irradiation tests. According to TID and SEE test results, ADS5272 was chosen to be implemented in the full-size LAr Trigger Digitizer Board (LTDB) demonstrator, which will be installed on ATLAS calorimeter during the 2014 Long Shutdown 1 (LS1).Â«Â less

PG&E NEG Salem Harbor Station Unit 1 was successfully tested for applicability of activated carbon injection as a mercury control technology. Test results from this site have enabled a thorough evaluation of mercury control at Salem Harbor Unit 1, including performance, estimated cost, and operation data. This unit has very high native mercury removal, thus it was important to understand the impacts of process variables on native mercury capture. The team responsible for executing this program included plant and PG&E headquarters personnel, EPRI and several of its member companies, DOE, ADA, Norit Americas, Inc., Hamon Research-Cottrell, Apogee Scientific, TRC Environmental Corporation, Reaction Engineering, as well as other laboratories. The technical support of all of these entities came together to make this program achieve its goals. Overall the objectives of this field test program were to determine the mercury control and balance-of-plant impacts resulting from activated carbon injection into a full-scale ESP on Salem Harbor Unit 1, a low sulfur bituminous-coal-fired 86 MW unit. It was also important to understand the impacts of process variables on native mercury removal (>85%). One half of the gas stream was used for these tests, or 43 MWe. Activated carbon, DARCO FGD supplied by NORIT Americas, was injected upstream of the cold side ESP, just downstream of the air preheater. This allowed for approximately 1.5 seconds residence time in the duct before entering the ESP. Conditions tested in this field evaluation included the impacts of the Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) system on mercury capture, of unburned carbon in the fly ash, of adjusting ESP inlet flue gas temperatures, and of boiler load on mercury control. The field evaluation conducted at Salem Harbor looked at several sorbent injection concentrations at several flue gas temperatures. It was noted that at the mid temperature range of 322-327 F, the LOI (unburned carbon) lost some of its

A high flame temperature oxy-combustion test facility consisting of a 5 MWe equivalent test boiler facility and 20 KWe equivalent IPRĂÂź was constructed at the Hammond, Indiana manufacturing site. The test facility was operated natural gas and coal fuels and parametric studies were performed to determine the optimal performance conditions and generated the necessary technical data required to demonstrate the technologies are viable for technical and economic scale-up. Flame temperatures between 4930-6120F were achieved with high flame temperature oxy-natural gas combustion depending on whether additional recirculated flue gases are added to balance the heat transfer. For high flame temperature oxy-coal combustion, flame temperatures in excess of 4500F were achieved and demonstrated to be consistent with computational fluid dynamic modeling of the burner system. The project demonstrated feasibility and effectiveness of the Jupiter Oxygen high flame temperature oxy-combustion process with Integrated Pollutant Removal process for CCS and CCUS. With these technologies total parasitic power requirements for both oxygen production and carbon capture currently are in the range of 20% of the gross power output. The Jupiter Oxygen high flame temperature oxy-combustion process has been demonstrated at a Technology Readiness Level of 6 and is ready for commencement of a demonstration project.

Develops Diagnostic Test Cases To Improve Building Energy Simulation Programs The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Residential and Commercial Buildings research groups developed a set of diagnostic test cases for building energy simulations. Eight test cases were developed to test surface conduction heat transfer algorithms of building envelopes in building energy simulation programs. These algorithms are used to predict energy flow through external opaque surfaces such as walls,

Technologies and Research ... Technologies and Research Capabilities We're furthering research and development of additive manufacturing in national security applications. Benefits of additive manufacturing include part consolidation, reduced waste, fabrication of challenging features and increased functionality through design; applications at this point are focused on tooling. Y-12 and Pantex are hotbeds for the advancement of science and technology. The scope of our research and development

--Idaho National Laboratoryâs, Space Nuclear Systems and Technology Division established the resources, equipment and facilities required to provide nuclear-fueled, Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) to Department of Energy (DOE) Customers. RPSs are designed to convert the heat generated by decay of iridium clad, 238PuO2 fuel pellets into electricity that is used to power missions in remote, harsh environments. Utilization of nuclear fuel requires adherence to governing regulations and the INL provides unique capabilities to safely fuel, test, store, transport and integrate RPSs to supply powerâsupporting mission needs. Nuclear capabilities encompass RPS fueling, testing, handling, storing, transporting RPS nationally, and space vehicle integration. Activities are performed at the INL and in remote locations such as John F. Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Station to support space missions. This paper will focus on the facility and equipment capabilities primarily offered at the INL, Material and Fuel Complex located in a security-protected, federally owned, industrial area on the remote desert site west of Idaho Falls, ID. Nuclear and non-nuclear facilities house equipment needed to perform required activities such as general purpose heat source (GPHS) module pre-assembly and module assembly using nuclear fuel; RPS receipt and baseline electrical testing, fueling, vibration testing to simulate the launch environment, mass properties testing to measure the mass and compute the moment of inertia, electro-magnetic characterizing to determine potential consequences to the operation of vehicle or scientific instrumentation, and thermal vacuum testing to verify RPS power performance in the vacuum and cold temperatures of space.

During the period beginning November 1991 and ending September 1992, a series of tests were conducted at Foster Wheeler Development Corporation in a fluidized-bed coal carbonizer to determine its performance characteristics. The carbonizer was operated for 533 hours in a jetting fluidized-bed configuration during which 36 set points (steady-state periods) were achieved. Extensive data were collected on the feed and product stream compositions, heating values, temperatures, and flow rates. With these data, elemental and energy balances were computed to evaluate and confirm accuracy of the data. The carbonizer data were not as self-consistent as could be desired (balance closure imperfection). A software package developed by Science Ventures, Inc., of California, called BALAID, was used to reconcile the carbonizer data; the details of the reconciliation have been given in Volume 1 of this report. The reconciled data for the carbonizer were rigorously analyzed, correlations were developed, and the model was updated accordingly. The model was then used in simulating each of the 36 steady-state periods achieved in the pilot plant. The details are given in this Volume of the report.

Currently, we do not have the ability to predict the hohlraum drive and symmetry without requiring ad hoc adjustments to physics models. This document describes a plan for code improvements and focused physics validation experiments.

This project has the objective to reduce and/or eliminate the use of HEU in commerce. Steps in the process include developing a target testing methodology that is bounding for all Mo-99 target irradiators, establishing a maximum target LEU-foil mass, developing a LEU-foil target qualification document, developing a bounding target failure analysis methodology (failure in reactor containment), optimizing safety vs. economics (goal is to manufacture a safe, but relatively inexpensive target to offset the inherent economic disadvantage of using LEU in place of HEU), and developing target material specifications and manufacturing QC test criteria. The slide presentation is organized under the following topics: Objective, Process Overview, Background, Team Structure, Key Achievements, Experiment and Activity Descriptions, and Conclusions. The High Density Target project has demonstrated: approx. 50 targets irradiated through domestic and international partners; proof of concept for two front end processing methods; fabrication of uranium foils for target manufacture; quality control procedures and steps for manufacture; multiple target assembly techniques; multiple target disassembly devices; welding of targets; thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical modeling; robust target assembly parametric studies; and target qualification analysis for insertion into very high flux environment. The High Density Target project has tested and proven several technologies that will benefit current and future Mo-99 producers.